Oct 17—28, 2018
The Peculiar Patriot
Liza Jesse Peterson / NYC
A love story from both sides of the bars.
Inspired by her decades-long work with prison populations, including on the notorious Riker’s Island, Liza Jessie Peterson’s timely and urgent one-person show unpacks the human impact of mass incarceration in America. Fearlessly funny, smart and provocative, The Peculiar Patriot traces the migration of systemic injustice from the plantation to the prison yard.
Betsy LaQuanda Ross, Liza’s narrator, a self-proclaimed “peculiar patriot,” who makes regular visits to penitentiaries to boost the morale of her incarcerated friends and family. Betsy is both victim and victor of this country’s prison system and her story turns statistics into achingly relatable stories, drawn from the experience of more than 2.5 million people behind bars.
Info
Venue
Emerson Paramount Center
Jackie Liebergott Black Box
559 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
Dates
Oct 17, 2018 - Oct 28, 2018
Details
90 minutes, no intermission
Tickets $60
11+
There will be NO LATE SEATING for The Peculiar Patriot. Please plan to arrive 15-30 minutes early.
“★★★★★ The best way to truly care about a nation is to heal it, and Liza Jessie Peterson’s solo play about black love, female friendship and the perversions of state power is a gorgeous part of that work.”
— Time Out New York
“This powerful solo show, is delivering a richly layered, all-out performance of the sort you tend to remember.”
— The Boston Globe
“Timely, enlightening, but perhaps most importantly – moving.”
— EDGE Media
“Peterson is able to melt smiles into tears and turn silence into laughter.”
— The Suffolk Journal
“Liza is connecting people inside and outside America’s prison system, and she’s doing it with humor, empathy and compassion.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
“It’s too warm to be chilling, too poetic to be bleak, and too honest to be forgotten.”
— Theatre Pizzazz
“The Peculiar Patriot excels at visceral moments… even as it builds a strong case against the mass incarceration of African Americans and the effects of a racially skewed justice system.”
— The New York Times
“A blistering critique of the American criminal justice system.”
— Broadway World
“A tale of prison injustice, told from the inside out”
— The Boston Globe
Brian Schactman Interview with Liza Jessie Peterson
— NECN/NBC Boston
Sunday October 14, 2018: The Peculiar Patriot Play Using Drama and Humor on Mass Incarceration
Interview with Liza Jessie Peterson
— WCVB-TV “CityLine”
Voices with Pebbles: Liza Jessie Peterson
— WBQT-FM “Voices”
“If you’re in the Boston area you have to check out Liza Jessie Peterson’s The Peculiar Patriot.”
— @DiggsWayne
“DOPE evening of theatre…an incredible play. It’s a powerful and provocative piece on criminal justice and racism.”
— @SMGebru
“Don’t walk, RUN to see #PeculiarPatroit…one of the most moving pieces I’ve seen in a while. Ground-shaking good.”
— @AudreySeraphin
“Very powerful.”
— @Danfrmbourque
“Beautiful, graceful, provocative show exploring incarceration.”
— @gbenaharon
“Don’t miss this fabulous eye opening one woman play. Her performance is riveting and this play will haunt you because it is real.”
— Mari Adams
“Amazing performance; Eye-opening message about the racial inequities of the prison system.”
— Wade Robbins