Photo Flash: Inside Opening Night of Remount's THE PECULIAR PATRIOT

The Peculiar Patriot, Liza Jessie Peterson's powerful one-woman show and scathing indictment of the criminal justice system, opened Friday to fanfare at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) in Harlem. The show is directed by Talvin Wilks and produced by NBT and Hi-ARTS and runs through July 29.

Check out photos from opening night below!

Among the notables attending were singer-actress Rhonda Ross; actors Maechi Aharanwa (Sweet), Ryan Shaw (Motown: The Musical), Donnell E. Smith(Kill Move Paradise) and Renicka Williams (Sweet); playwrights Nikkole Salter (co-writer, Pulitzer Prize-nominated play In the Continuum) and Nambi E. Kelley (Native Son, Blood); as well as Peterson; Wilks; NBT CEO Sade Lythcott and Director of Theatre Arts Jonathan McCrory; and Hi-ARTS Executive Director Raymond Codrington and General Manager Aaron L. McKinney.

The Peculiar Patriot follows protagonist Betsy LaQuanda Ross, a self-proclaimed peculiar patriot, as she makes regular visits to penitentiaries to boost the morale of her incarcerated friends and family, and navigates love through barbed wire. The show likens mass incarceration to "our peculiar institution," the euphemism formerly used for slavery.

In addition to the New York dates, Peterson will have stops this fall at ArtsEmerson in Boston (October 15-28), Karamu House in Cleveland (October 29-November 4), the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vermont (November 7-11), as well as Lincoln Center Theater educational program performances in New York (November 13- 16, and March 5- 8, 2019), and more.

For tickets or further information, visit www.nationalblacktheatre.org or call NBT directly at (212) 722-3800. National Black Theatre is located at 2031 Fifth Avenue between 125th and 126th streets in Harlem. (Take the 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 subway to 125th Street.)