Fringe Play Reviews

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Spitting in the Face of the Devil

By: by Bob Brader

John Montgomery Theatre Company New York, NY

07/17/2011 12:46 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies) Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

Alloway Hall (Venue 4), to Sunday

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New York monologist Bob Brader, or Little Bobby as his family calls him, takes the stage to announce the death of his father, reading from an obit he posted on his fridge for a year because "reading it made me smile."

Planting himself in a folding chair next to a blown-up family photo, Brader proceeds to tell the unforgettable story of a childhood so abusive it’ll make your skin crawl. It’s made even more disturbing by the almost cheerful hatred with which he tells it.

"Everybody loved" charming ex-Marine Robert Bader Sr., who, after first mention, is referred to as The Devil. That seems an apt nickname for a closeted homosexual predator who beat his son daily and once scrubbed the boy’s teeth so hard his gums bled for days.

Brader is to be admired for turning his tragic past into art rather than letting it destroy him. But there’s something sad and slightly disappointing about the aggressive note on which he ends his story.

— Carolin Vesely

From the official Fringe Festival program:

In this daring, uplifting and comedic solo show, acclaimed New York monologist Bob Brader tells the gripping, totally true story of discovering that his charismatic ex-Marine father is a pedophile.

Winner "Best Show of the London Fringe" - The Beat Magazine

4 STARS "Masterful storytelling!" - The Beat Magazine

4 STARS "Sixty minutes of brilliance!" – Arts in London

"The One!" – London Free Press

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 60 min.

Tickets: $10

Under 16 not admitted.

Warnings: Subject Matter, Language, Adult Themes

History

Updated on Sunday, July 17, 2011 at 12:46 PM CDT:
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