If you're one of the few folks who didn't see Donny Osmond when he was selling out houses across the United States and Canada in the tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, your prayers may have been answered. Osmond told radio host Howard Stern (Dec. 5) he's been tapped by the Really Useful Company to star in the official video version of Joseph.

Calls for confirmation to Andrew Lloyd Webber's NY spokesperson were not returned by press time.

Osmond's most recent theatrical venture was in an upstate New York outdoor pageant, playing a prophet of the Mormon faith, in the 60th annual Hill Cumorah Pageant, America's Witness To Christ.

Ironically, in July, Osmond told Playbill On-Line, "Joseph is dead. I reached the end. It's been nearly five years. I always had a time limit on how long I'd do Joseph, but Livent just kept extending that time limit. It was wonderful and Garth (Drabinsky, Livent chairman and C.E.O.) treated me grand." After almost 2,000 performances as the Biblical son of Jacob who's sold into slavery by his brothers in the Joseph tour, Osmond left the show as of the Sunday, May 25 matinee at Toronto's Elgin Theatre.

At the time, Osmond said he'd like to return to TV in a network variety show with sister Marie, however, "There's still theatre in my plans. I'd love to come back to Broadway [where he did the George M. Cohan musical Little Johnny Jones in 1982]. I've got some irons in the fire." Osmond also mentioned that he and The Phantom of the Opera composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, had discussed his starring in that lead role in 1993, but there are no current plans for him to embrace "The Music of the Night." Osmond said, "I'd love to bring it to Broadway. You've got to be really good to play Broadway, so time will tell on that. I'd be more than happy to do Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Minneapolis and so on. These are strong theatre cities with great threatres."

-- By David Lefkowitz