A Look Back to 10 weeks of American Buffalo with Damian Lewis, Part I

source: Daily Mail
source: Daily Mail

Damian Lewis has said good-bye to American Buffalo in a tweet on Saturday just before his last two performances:

source: @lewis_damian twitter
source: @lewis_damian twitter

Sad to say good-bye indeed… 10 weeks were gone with the wind and American Buffalo is no more. It was super exciting to have Damian Lewis back on stage after six years and I sincerely hope — for selfish reasons — that he will not take such a long break from stage ever again! And, please, Damian, come to the Great White Way next time and make your American fans happy, too 🙂

I got to meet Mr. Walter “Teach” Cole on stage late May… Oh, what an unforgettable night at the theater! Damian Lewis makes you gasp as you follow him on stage. The energy he emits on stage captures you, so much so that it is quite difficult to take your eyes off him even when “Teach” is just sitting quietly — eating his bacon and eavesdropping a conversation between Don and Bob. It is most probably because, with that high energy you feel in him, you just KNOW anything can happen with him anytime that you are at the edge of your seat… waiting. Damian’s performance is a tour de force that leaves you in awe… for weeks! In case you missed it, I  reviewed American Buffalo in two parts, Act I and Act II — well… I had so much to tell 🙂

Next to his mesmerizing performance, Damian also seemed to be having the time of his life on stage — both with his wonderful acting, but also with his “Teach” look popping up from the 70s with the moustache and the giant sideburns! He drew a lot of giggles when he made his first appearance on stage, took it from there and just stormed it!

source: Daily Mail
Teach appears on stage, source: Daily Mail

During the American Buffalo run, Damian Lewis gave an interview to Gold Derby mainly about Wolf Hall,  but he also briefly talked about American Buffalo. His words seem to second my perception that he had a great time on stage!

I had never seen Damian Lewis on stage before and quite a few weeks after I have seen him on stage, I am still in awe of American Buffalo, and my husband and I keep quoting “Teach” in our daily conversations with our most favorite being “This is planning. This is preparation.”

Well, I have also planned and prepared a look back at 10 weeks of American Buffalo! Please sit back, relax and enjoy 🙂

Before the previews started on April 16, Damian talked openly about his “pretty basic fear” about going back to stage! “I’m nervous just about the reality of being on stage in front of 800 people and perhaps not knowing what your next line is. It’s a pretty basic fear. I’ve canvassed opinion from actors about what makes them nervous about being on stage, and almost all of them say it’s about worrying whether the next line will come.”

Ah, and this Francesco Guidicini portrait from the Instagram Sunday Times Stories — big thanks go to JaniaJania for spotting it —  attests to the fact that Damian embraces his “pretty basic fear” in his usual “effortlessly charming” manner 🙂

source: Instagram - Sunday Times
source: Sunday Times – Instagram

I remember an interview with him on YouTube from a couple of years ago, where he is asked about “the moment before stepping up to stage.” Damian goes: “It’s a sphincter tightening moment… It’s quite sweaty. And… I try to stay calm… I try to breathe… and, I try to do some Yogic breathing… just get everything as low and assented as possible.  ”

Well, the rituals seem to have paid off 🙂 Because Damian came, saw and conquered the stage! American Buffalo was a SUCCESS from the first curtain to the last!

One big news was a tweet from the intermission on the Press Night!

source: @theatrethought twitter account
source: @theatrethought twitter account

WOW. I just cannot imagine how thrilled the actors felt knowing (they would know, right?) that the playwright was right there in the audience. That should be the beauty of staging a play by a living playwright — chances are, he will be there for your press night!

There was an after-party on press night where Damian could not help it when asked about what his wife, Helen McCrory, thinks about his ’70s moustache: “She has a penchant for Seventies porn stars so it’s going very well, thank you.” 🙂

source: Getty Images
source: Getty Images

The brilliant reviews came in just after the Press Night with my favorite being Guardian’s “Damian Lewis is right on the money.”

reviews

It seems the quote got very popular that made it to the poster outside Wyndham’s Theatre — with yours truly in front it 🙂

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

Several stars were spotted in the audience, including James Purefoy, Kit Harington, Eddie Redmayne, Penn Jillette and Ralph Fiennes.

And, almost every day and night after the show, Damian made a lot of fans HAPPY by making time to sign programmes, tickets and having pics taken with them! Here’s a sweet collage that I made with pics I collected from fan shares on Twitter — take a look, maybe you’ll find yourself there with Damian Lewis 🙂 Thanks to all fans that shared their pics!

source: Damian Lewis fans on Twitter!
source: Damian Lewis fans on Twitter!

And, yes, awww, he made one particular fan very happy, too 🙂 Damian, thank you so much for taking the time to meet and chat with me, for your kind words and nicknaming me — we’re still laughing about it. We will do our best to keep Fan Fun with Damian Lewis a FUN place for all the fans! You are THE BEST!

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

Tomorrow: Damian’s extra-curricular activites during the crazy run 🙂

Author: Damianista

Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!

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