Donny Osmond returning to Broadway

NEW YORK, May 17 (UPI) -- Former teen idol Donny Osmond is returning to Broadway after a nearly 25-year absence to play Gaston in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

Osmond will join the production for nine weeks starting Sept. 19, Playbill.com reported Wednesday. Osmond was last seen on Broadway in 1992's "Little Johnny Jones."

"I opened and closed (Little Johnny Jones) in one night and I remember thinking, 'One of these days, I'm going to do it right,'" Osmond said in a statement. "Now almost 25 years later I have the chance -- I couldn't do it any more right than joining such an iconic show as 'Beauty.' I can't wait to get started!"

Osmond starred in the national tour of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and was the singing voice of Captain Shang in Disney's animated film, "Mulan."