Bøker av Stephen Belber

"What does it take to become a charismatic spiritual leader, one who has people questioning and empowering their own faith? Is it possible in our media soaked society to grab the attention of millions of people simply by speaking your mind and sharing your faith, ultimately proving the power of positive thinking? In...the complicated and timely play THE POWER OF DUFF by Stephen Belber, TV anchor Charlie Duff begins to sign-off each Rochester news broadcast with a prayer from his heart about a situation in his own life. His co-workers react negatively, but when a growing crowd of believers becomes glued to their TV sets wondering when their prayers will be answered, the jump in ratings quickly changes the minds of his co-anchors Sue Raspell, sports co-anchor John Ebbs, and sufficiently slimy station boss Scott Zoellner. The play is ultimately about a person who is fundamentally ambivalent about religion, even about spirituality-who undergoes an emotional transformation, which in turn leads him to a position of being a suddenly looked-to spiritual leader even as his ambivalence continues. But what his on-air prayers do-and don't do-to those closest to Duff tests the news anchor's own beliefs. Can he inspire others to help each other when he has trouble doing just that in his own life? Stephen Belber's sharp new play asks if there is anything more vital than the faith we have in ourselves and one another.... Playwright Stephen Belber['s]... ability to look inside the hearts and souls of his characters always shines through even the most difficult situations. You will walk out questioning your own life and how you can change it for the betterment of yourself as well as all around you."Shari Barrett, broadwayworld.com

The story of a younger generation grappling with the actions and inactions of those who came before. When Beau, a directionless 19 year-old, discovers that his mother was involved in a decade-old unsolved crime during her time as a military contractor, he seeks out the Afghan victim's daughter in California. As the web of the past widens, we see how a single, largely forgotten evening is still affecting people-and politics-throughout the country and world. A series about how people move forward when the past refuses to fade. "Rather than sensationally ripped from the headlines, the play's dilemmas grow organically. And then there's a strong post-play half-life, leaving you debating your emotional allegiances. Although figuring out what happened provides the machinery of the plot, WE ARE AMONG US isn't exactly a mystery. It's more about figuring out its people, including the "us" of the title. Its half-life is vivid, like that of war, where figuring out the facts can't remotely relieve the pain.... It's remarkable how this seemingly predictable small play becomes big and how quickly it forced me to invest in its three central characters. This is even though (this is at the heart of the play's power) it's a zero-sum story where what we wish for each character complicates what we can wish for the others. No, make that a negative-sum story in which each revelation further contracts the options. We're forced into a pattern of tightening choices, just as the people the play dramatizes."Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"With the craft and depth of a fine novelist, Mr Belber creates a mosaic of pointed incidents imparting vital information. Beautifully dramatized is the subtext of enduring the damage by a troubled family background, as evidenced by Joan's circuitous life journey with its bouts of self-sabotage, irrational decisions, selfishness and redemptive self-awareness. The form of the memory play is taken to the zenith by JOAN." Theatre Scene "With bold ambition to do just that, to tell the story of one woman's life with honesty and integrity, playwright Stephen Belber's JOAN offers a kaleidoscopic look at its fictional, titular character through a lens of sweeping longitude that slowly creates an absorbing and dramatically effective portrait. The humanity painted by Mr Belber's play is moving precisely because of its simplicity and ordinariness. Every person has a story. Joan's is worth seeing." Stage Left "In many ways, Joan has led a normal existence: daughter and mother, lover and wife, sister and friend, artist and teacher. She has had affairs and heartaches, hopes and frustrations. What's less ordinary is how the playwright Stephen Belber tells her story: in nonchronological vignettes that jump around various points in her life. …JOAN is a fractured portrait that holds together." Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New Yorker