Reviews - Conflict
"Ms. Thompson’s cast is so strong.
Mr. Beck, who plays the socialist, has
the best part and runs with it,
never succumbing to the temptation to
sound too good to be true..."
- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
***
"To my mind, any production with Jeremy Beck is fortunate.
"To my mind, any production with Jeremy Beck is fortunate.
Tom’s
emotional and physical debilitation as well as the character’s fury with
powerlessness is visceral; changes in energy and renewed balance
irrefutable. Principles seem deeply felt.
The actor inhabits wariness/reticence/confusion with watchful subtlety.
The actor inhabits wariness/reticence/confusion with watchful subtlety.
***
"Clarke and Beck make a fine central pair of battlers, although Beck comes off better
"Clarke and Beck make a fine central pair of battlers, although Beck comes off better
His creation of the struggling and trapped Smith is beautifully
thoughtful and dynamic, pleading the case of the less fortunate with a
strong sense
of internal self-knowledge and societal distress.
His dramatic rise as the play moves exquisitely forward becomes the soil and soul of the play, giving nutrients and a warm place to grow. Without this gifted actor portraying this intelligent and thoughtful dreamer, the play might be lopsided with no internal struggle or progressive outlook, but with him at the root of the debate,
Conflict literally grows strong and true."
- Times Square Chronicles
of internal self-knowledge and societal distress.
His dramatic rise as the play moves exquisitely forward becomes the soil and soul of the play, giving nutrients and a warm place to grow. Without this gifted actor portraying this intelligent and thoughtful dreamer, the play might be lopsided with no internal struggle or progressive outlook, but with him at the root of the debate,
Conflict literally grows strong and true."
- Times Square Chronicles
***
"A meeting between two soon-to-be rivals, Ronald Clive (Henry Clarke) and Tom Smith (Jeremy Beck), as directed by Jenn Thompson, is a masterpiece of tension and exposition."
Ken Marks, The New Yorker
"A meeting between two soon-to-be rivals, Ronald Clive (Henry Clarke) and Tom Smith (Jeremy Beck), as directed by Jenn Thompson, is a masterpiece of tension and exposition."
Ken Marks, The New Yorker
***
"Jeremy Beck delivers a solidly engaging performance as the rogue Tom Smith turned political activist. Mr. Beck is delightful as he “seduces” Dare with knowledge and the realm of meta-politics.
- David Roberts, OnStage Review
"Jeremy Beck delivers a solidly engaging performance as the rogue Tom Smith turned political activist. Mr. Beck is delightful as he “seduces” Dare with knowledge and the realm of meta-politics.
- David Roberts, OnStage Review
***
"In a layered and nuanced performance as Tom Smith,
Jeremy Beck is an admirable hero."
-Victor Gluck, Theatre Scene
***
"a terrifically nuanced performance by Jeremy Beck"
- Elyse Sommer, Curtain Up
***
"the earnest Tom Smith is
played with fiery passion by Jeremy Beck"
played with fiery passion by Jeremy Beck"
Beatrice Williams-Rude, Theatre Pizzazz
***
"Smith’s
defense of Labour’s principles, expressively delivered by Beck,
has a timely ring: “It seems to me pretty clear that, in these days of science and machinery, if we really wanted, as a first step to a more sensible world, to produce enough clothes and food and warmth for everybody, we could; the only thing that’s lacking is a common purpose, deeply enough felt among enough people, that the thing’s got to be done.”
Beck, Shelton, and Clarke are first-rate as the vertices
of Malleson’s tense romantic triangle."
has a timely ring: “It seems to me pretty clear that, in these days of science and machinery, if we really wanted, as a first step to a more sensible world, to produce enough clothes and food and warmth for everybody, we could; the only thing that’s lacking is a common purpose, deeply enough felt among enough people, that the thing’s got to be done.”
Beck, Shelton, and Clarke are first-rate as the vertices
of Malleson’s tense romantic triangle."
- Charles Wright, Off Off Online
***
"What follows
is a lengthy piece of exposition detailing Tom's slide into penury... In other hands, the speech might have seemed
onerous, a thick slab of exposition, but it is delivered superbly by Jeremy Beck,
whose solid grasp of period style has made him a mainstay of The Actors
Company Theater and, more recently, the Mint. Beck paces his tale
expertly, impulsively pouring out the ruinous details, yet,
occasionally, coming to an abrupt halt, pausing to consider how much
more of his humiliation he must share. Hunched over a coffee table,
devouring a plate of sandwiches and gulping glass after glass of
whiskey, he infuses the scene with an animal desperation that leaves his
auditors -- Clive and Lord Bellingdon, Dare's father -- in a state of
speechlessness."
- David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America
- David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America
***
"...the performance of Jeremy Beck stands out. Beck is sensational as Tom
Smith, a man whose view of the world changes radically when he falls
from the upper classes to near starvation. Beck portrays Smith as a
careful man who suppresses his emotions, yet the audience always knows
what emotions he is suppressing. Smith's pride, humiliations, ambitions,
and love are all the more vivid for being so carefully tamped down.
***
"In Jeremy Beck, Henry Clarke, Jessie Shelton, and Graeme Malcolm (all of
whom have been seasoned in the regional and not-for-profit theatres in
the USA and Britain)
we have perfection..."
- Richard Seff. On and Off Broadway
we have perfection..."
- Richard Seff. On and Off Broadway
***
"Tom Smith first appears as a penurious interloper on Lord Bellingdon's
estate,
and his character's growth in integrity and confidence is as
well portrayed by Jeremy Beck as his physical transformation is
astonishing, the latter with great help from costume designer Martha
Hally and whoever is responsible for Beck's makeup."
- Michael Portantiere, Talkin' Broadway