A blow-up pic of what looks like a happy family dominates the stage throughout Bob Brader’s autobiographical monologue, Spitting in the Face of the Devil. The picture is deceiving. The devil is in the picture. It’s Brader’s father, at the center. He’s the Satanic creature Brader dealt with throughout their intertwined lives, and the play is a way of showing how he finally dealt with that devil. From Brader’s birth in 20th century Allenton, PA, to his present affiliation with JMTC Theater, creating original drama and touring it throughout the world, Brader tells of his struggle with his father. Bob Sr., a Marine Vet, could not have been more militaristic during his son’s youth. During years of maltreatment in general and for wetting his bed in particular, Bob Jr. had only two sustaining resources: the support of his mother and pursuit of becoming an actor. Bob continually and skillfully re-creates his emotional responses as he describes many a time when his father physically or psychologically assaulted and denigrated him and his mother. There are harrowing episodes that involve his siblings and his few but close boyfriends. His father violently denounced his best friend as a fag. Bob substantiates motives he had for murder, something his father also delved into. As Brader’s play title indicates, his story does have a happy ending. It’s a particular one, but parts can be emulated by others who’ve been in situations like his. His performance is not just an attempt to be goody-goody or make an audience feel sorry for him. It is dramatically thoroughly professional. That he is sharing any profits with Manatee Children’s Services (Dedicated to Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse) helps define Bob Brader personally, as well.
