A View from the Underside: The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A One-Person Play Adapted and Performed by Al Staggs brings the life of one of the great heroes of the twentieth century to the stage. The audience is brought into the prison cell where Bonhoeffer awaits execution and listens to his struggles with evil, injustice, and God.
In the play, Bonhoeffer tells of the profound influence of fellow Union Theological student, Frank Fisher, an African-American friend who introduced Dietrich to the blight of racism in America.
Prisoner Bonhoeffer expresses moral outrage against the Nazi treatment of Jews and explains how that outrage led him to become involved in the German resistance movement, a commitment that would result in his being executed by hanging on April 9, 1945.
"You accomplish ... an astonishing fullness of Dietrich, the personality and the message."
-Eberhard Bethge, Bonhoeffer's biographer
Clarence Jordan and the God Movement
Clarence Jordan was a farmer, Baptist minister, and biblical scholar who, in 1942, founded the interracial community of Koinonia in south Georgia. Jordan’s life and theology were a radical embodiment of the teachings of Jesus, especially those from the Sermon on the Mount.
" I want to thank you for your outstanding performance here at Habitat for Humanity International headquarters. You did a superb job of impersonating Clarence Jordan. Indeed, I can not imagine you doing a better job of impersonating that great man of God. One of the best indications of how well you did was the reaction of the Jordan family including his three living children. They were astounded at your magnificent portrayal of their father."
-Millard Fuller, Founder & President, The Fuller Center for Housing and Founder, Habitat for Humanity International
"Al Staggs has honed a great actor’s skills to embody the farmer-theologian Clarence Jordan on stage and convey with similar dramatic force and humor the challenging messages in the Gospels."
Dallas Lee, author of The Cotton Patch Evidence, the Story of Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia Farm Experiment (Harper & Row)
A Lover’s Quarrel with America: William Sloane Coffin, an American Prophet
William Sloane Coffin was a clergyman, college chaplain and long-time peace activist who served as Senior Minister of the Riverside Church in New York City where his sermons served as a prophetic voice to America concerning the issues of war, gay rights and economic and racial equality.
"Al Staggs humorous and thoughtful presentation leads immediately to a spirit of connected engagement on the part of those present. His portrayal of William Sloane Coffin brings to life an important prophetic voice, providing a perspective on Christianity far different than the media usually present when focusing on conservative and fundamentalist leaders. Staggs' depiction of Coffin places him in the line of prophets stretching back all the way to the Old Testament era who called relentlessly for the pursuit of justic and peace as integral to a life of faithfulness."
-Dr. David Hendricksen, Adjunct Professor, Tusculum College, Greeneville, TN