Category: Theater

Throwback Thursday Into the Woods

I told you earlier about the American Buffalo programme booklet that has fun questions asked by fans and answered by Damian Lewis!

americanbuffaloprogramme

Here is another question from that booklet! Claire Bartlett asks: “I saw you playing the Wolf in Into the Woods at the Donmar in the late 1990s. Any more musicals on the horizon?”

Oh, yeah! Way earlier than being the big, bad wolf Henry inWolf Hall, Damian Lewis was the Wolf in Into the Woods. 

wolves

Damian was cast as the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in the 1998 London revival of Into the Woods, one of Stephen Sondheim’s greatest musicals. The revival opened at the Donmar Warehouse on 16 November 1998, and closed on 13 February 1999.

Here is a lovely pic along with his theater, TV and film credits from the 1998 London Playbill for the musical.

source: ebay.ca
source: ebay.ca

Continue reading “Throwback Thursday Into the Woods”

A Look Back to 10 Weeks of American Buffalo with Damian Lewis, Part II

source: Damianista
source: Damianista

In case you missed Part I, which is mostly about the actor, the play and the fans, you can read it here.

I, of course, have no idea about how stage actors organize their lives. I just know they work during prime time, that is, they WORK as we go out and eat and watch TV and go to the movies and thereby their routine should be different from us. I also remember Damian commenting on this very thing in the 5 Minutes with Damian Lewis interview:

So, I was really curious if life would sort of stop for our guy during his crazy 10 week long theater run with 8 performances a week — would he just shuttle between home and work?

Some actors may just do that, but not Damian Lewis. He is such an energetic guy that he filled those 10 weeks with a number of extra-curricular activities including one that is said to score 9 out of 10 in terms of stress levels.

Curious? Scroll down! Continue reading “A Look Back to 10 Weeks of American Buffalo with Damian Lewis, Part II”

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 🙂 Continue reading “A Look Back to 10 weeks of American Buffalo with Damian Lewis, Part I”

A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act II

“We all live like the cavemen.” – Walter "Teach" Cole
source: boradwayworld.com
source: broadwayworld.com

Advance Warning: A sign at the entrance of Wyndham’s theatre warns the audience about explicit language in American Buffalo. I would love to imitate that and warn you all, for the sake of giving a detailed review of the play, I choose to use some of that explicit language in my blog post. So, please read at your own risk – thank you!

In case you missed the first part of my review, and want to take a look, here it is.

American Buffalo, as it brings to life a day in the lives of three no-hopers that are dying to have a shot at their slice of the American Dream, addresses the themes of friendship, loyalty and business. The play, in particular, examines how the new corporate culture penetrates into daily lives and brings about unbearable cost to people through meddling with the core “values” they have held for the longest time. One can lie, break business deals, and simply do whatever it takes to get his own way in the new world, and there is no place for trust. Teach, coming from outside, symbolizes these “new values” in a way. He “teaches” Don how the new world works: “All I mean, a guy can be too loyal, Don. Don’t be dense on this. What are we saying here? Business.” Continue reading “A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act II”

A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act I

“All that I’m saying, don’t confuse business with pleasure.” 
– Walter “Teach” Cole
source: broadwayworld.com
source: broadwayworld.com

Advance Warning: A sign at the entrance of Wyndham’s theatre warns the audience about explicit language in American Buffalo. I would love to imitate that and warn you all, for the sake of giving a detailed review of the play, I choose to use some of that explicit language in my blog post. So, please read at your own risk – thank you!

What would you do if you had a conference in Paris, and your most favorite actor is doing a play in London, and you have never seen him on stage before that you are dying to do so, and of course, London is only a two and a half hour train ride from Paris? Yeah, you would do what I did and book tickets for… American Buffalo!

Hurrah!

So… I was extremely lucky to see American Buffalo last week, a pure acting feast provided by the ridiculously talented trio of Damian Lewis, John Goodman and Tom Sturridge.

I know that only a limited number of fans have the opportunity to see the play, so I will try my best here to give you all a detailed account of the play highlighting the fantastic performance of Damian Lewis as Walter “Teach” Cole. Continue reading “A Night at the Theater with Damian Lewis: American Buffalo, Act I”