By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
December 3, 1999
Collaborating with brothers is nothing new to Patrick Cassidy, whose real-life siblings are former teen idols David and Shaun.
But how about the six nephews of Donny Osmond, the singer whom many folks still associate with the starring role in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”?
“We never had any blows,” Cassidy said, laughing. “No, they are the nicest guys out there – very polite, talented and just nice, nice people. I’m also thankful that they don’t really look like Donny, because that would be a reminder to me of who I’m following. But you can definitely tell they’re Osmonds.”
The musical returns to the Shubert Theatre Wednesday through Dec. 19. Pop star Deborah Gibson co-stars as the Narrator.
Cassidy, who has been on the road with the musical since the summer, said he was hesitant to accept when he initially was offered a part in the play.
“I had been offered the play two times before, but both times I was unavailable,” he said, phoning from his Los Angeles home. “My initial thought was that this was a step backward because I had done (Stephen Sondheim’s) `Assassins’ and other plays that I thought required more skill on stage. That’s what I initially thought about `Joseph.’ Then I went into rehearsal and realized what an acting challenge it was for me. I had to strip away everything I learned and rediscover the young boy in me again. That’s a really wonderful thing that every actor should do. It’s been such fun.”
It also helps that the “30ish” actor gets to perform with his wife, Melissa Hurley Cassidy, every night.
“She plays a character who seduces me,” he said. “She’s the little sex goddess. It couldn’t have worked out better. She’s an amazing dancer, and we get to have our two children with us on tour. The producers said we could bring a nanny along. All the puzzle pieces fell into place.”
Working with his own brothers is easier said than done. David Cassidy has asked his brother to portray their late father, Jack, in an autobiographical movie that he’s producing. But Cassidy said it’s not something he’d be comfortable doing.
But he’d be up for another appearance, such as the one in which all three brothers performed at an AIDS benefit in 1996.
“Shaun and I had both performed separately at these benefits over the years,” he said. “But we never did it together. Everyone had different commitments. David was doing his Vegas thing. Shaun pretty much gave up acting and singing to concentrate on writing (TV shows). It was so much fun to have us all dressed up in tuxedos and sing a tribute to Sondheim.”
They may not perform together as much as he’d like, but the brothers are obviously close. During this phone interview, Cassidy was interrupted by call-waiting calls from Shaun and youngest brother Ryan.
As for Mom and David?
“Oh, they called earlier in the day,” he said, laughing. “Is that odd?”
