In 1976, Friday nights at 8 p.m. meant that my sister and I were in our pajamas and waiting for “The Donny and Marie Show” to come on. The 20-inch Zenith television was warmed up and we sat on the avocado green, braided rug, waiting to be entertained.

At age seven, I thought that Donny and Marie were cool. They were teenagers (what could be cooler?), he picked on his sister (hey, me too), and most importantly, they were funny (actually, corny) and safe viewing for the entire family.

Flash forward to my trip to Las Vegas, earlier this year. As a guest of my in-laws, I was taken to see Donny and Marie’s show at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (thereby removing any embarrassment over wanting to see them, myself). The show was what I had expected, a series of cover medleys peppered with their individual hits, and, of course, a look back at their 40 years as performers. So what did I get out of this experience?

• Don’t over tip the usher, or you will end up in the second row.
• If you are going to sit that close to the stage, you are in Osmond country - smile like you mean it!
• If Marie sees that you aren’t smiling ear-to-ear, she will keep pointing at you and winking until you do. Don’t wink back…it only encourages her.
• When Donny says, “Come on, wave your hands in the air!” Do it or he will stop the show and make an example out of you and you will end up on the big screen above the stage.
• Sometimes, what happens in Vegas already happened somewhere else…30 years ago.

It’s easy to poke fun at a room full of 50 and 60-somethings singing along along to “Paper Roses” or “Puppy Love,” but as I shuffled out of the theater I began to think about what this show might mean to the people around me. Just as I had moments where I was transported back to those Friday nights in the mid-70s, there was a lot of other “time traveling” going on around me. Women, who had swooned for Donny as teenagers, wept at his touch as he danced on the tables around the stage. I heard one man say to his companion, “Do you remember the first time we heard that?”  What I was writing off as campy and a little sad had meaning that I had never considered.

Donny and Marie did more than just relive the past onstage, they had updated their act to reflect where they currently were in their own lives. Marie joked about menopause (yes, as you’ve already guessed - “men are on pause”). Donny made it clear that he was out of breath after the dance numbers. They talked about their children and how their families were still changing. Marie thanked the audience for our thoughtful wishes and prayers over the recent loss of her son. They gave each other a hard time about their respective appearances on ABC’s hit TV show, “Dancing with the Stars”. Both Donny and Marie went out of their way to relate their current lives to the audience who had connected to them long ago.

They were never cool to start with - I am beginning to think they never even tried. But what they have done is maintained the Osmond Brand. Not by changing with the times, but by changing with their audience and relating to them in a voice that says, “I remember 1976, too, but here’s where we all are now.” It’s a successful strategy that seems to be getting them a lot of attention in the media and the admiration of their fans - old and new.