She's older but still physical
Olivia Newton-John is certainly a galvanizing performer.
The 58-year-old winger actress/activist/breast cancer survivor appears Saturday night at Millikin University’s Kirkland Fine Arts Center in a show that sold out less than a week after tickets went on sale in late July. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Decatur Memorial Hospital Women’s Health and Breast Center for early detection of breast cancer through digital mammography.
Newton-John has fans aplenty, as befits her position as the most successful solo female recording artist of the 1970s. (She was the fifth most-successful solo female recording artist of the 1980s, which is pretty impressive considering her hit-making days had essentially concluded by the middle of the decade.)
Yet a handful of people have contacted me wondering why this concert is a big deal. They don’t seem to buy my explanation that Newton-John is unquestionably the biggest entertainment name to appear in Decatur since Bill Cosby did a pair of shows at Millikin in 2002.
How often does Decatur host someone with a string of success like Newton-John’s? She has 18 gold records, three platinum records, four double-platinum albums, and she was the star of a film that remains the highest-grossing live-action musical in history.
If that’s not enough to convince them, nothing will.
So here’s some information for those of you attending this weekend’s show or interested in what Newton-John will be doing.
According to newspaper and Internet reports on the tour, the concerts are averaging two hours in length. An orchestra plays on some tunes. It’s apparently a full multimedia event.
By Tim Cain
More from Olivia’s 2006 tour of the USA.