This week my brother Donny and I made it official: we will be taking our final bow this November at the Flamingo Las Vegas 😢
We depended on a great deal of prayer to come to this decision and thankfully we both feel peace about it… nevertheless... it is so HARD to think about parting ways with as many amazing, talented and hard-working people that we have come to know as ‘family’ these past 11 years. I wish I could name each and every one of them but this post would run for several pages!
When I think about what it has taken to put a show like ours together night after night, I am overwhelmed at the effort every single person has made. From our dedicated seamstresses, wardrobe and artistic folks to our tech crew, dancers and band. The set designers, carpenters, stage hands, choreographers and the amazing front of house staff – maître d’, ushers, security and the box office staff (and that’s only a few of the people that work with us!). These wonderful people come every day with one goal – making the show better each night. Their professional attitudes have been a major reason we have been here for eleven years. As the saying goes, “it takes a village!” Oh how I appreciate my work family! I am so grateful for each one of them!!!
Then there’s our extended show family… the cleaning staff who sometimes cleaned around me when they arrived in the early morning hours before I had even gone home! Not to mention the number of times I've been sustained when handed impromptu popovers by the kitchen staff as I’ve made my way along the passageway and through the kitchen corridor to the Meet & Greet area! 😊 And how about the pure power I received from the MANY “quick fix” ice cream cones from the EDR!!! 😏
Then of course there's you — our dedicated and loyal friends, fans and acquaintances — who have come out to the shows, some returning over and over. None of this would ever have been possible without you!!! How much do I appreciate all of you? You have made all the difference while making us what we are. 🥰
And now to my dear brother Donny. We have been together for almost 57 years!! We have seen each other through wonderful successes and then through some intense challenges and struggles. But through all the ups and downs of our brother and sister relationship, I have always tried to remember that you are my brother first and my business partner second. The unique sibling relationship we have has always been of the greatest importance to me. We are sealed together eternally as brother and sister and share special family ties with our brothers and incredible parents. That bond is more important than anything else! Donny you have been with me through some very difficult trials, divorce and custody battles, relocating my children and then—when I thought it couldn’t get worse—you were there when I faced the devastation of losing my beautiful son Michael. I am so grateful to God for this show over the past 11 years with you, once again, by my side. I love you. ♥️
The opportunity to sing for all of you has helped me survive those extremely painful and unsettling times. After all, #MusicIsMedicine. 😉 The special blessings which have come over these past years have been so tender. Others have created beautiful silver linings, such as becoming a grandmother, meeting the man of my dreams all over again and then remarrying him. My husband is truly the love of my life. And so, as I look ahead to the reality of one door closing and another opening up, a passage of scripture came to mind this past week, Matthew 6:25-26, which reads:
25: “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; or yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26: Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, nether do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
I am full of trust and love as I go forward—I am not completely certain what is ahead for me as I look at some wonderful opportunities, but I trust the Lord and His great plan for all of us! We just need the faith to listen and follow the Spirit as we trust God’s directions! Leaving the show and my comfort zone was a hard decision to make, but I trust the Lord. If you have been wanting to stretch yourself and take a leap of faith, then I invite you aboard. Let’s do it together! We can keep learning many things this way while trusting our Father in Heaven’s plan for us.
Last night I turned to Donny as we took our spots for the opening of the show and said: “Hey D, let’s just have fun with every show as we count down to the last one… let’s enjoy every single moment.” Saying goodbye is never easy, but as Donny said “It’s the end of The Donny & Marie Show, it’s never the end of Donny and Marie.” 😉😘
#HappySunday