MEDORA, N.D. — With a packed four-day schedule, the 12th annual Badlands Chautauqua returns to Medora July 17-20 for an entertaining and educational event. Hosted by the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) and dubbed the ‘Gathering of Teddy Roosevelts,’ the event fuses Theodore Roosevelt reprisors with creative opportunities to enjoy learning more about history. According to Joe Wiegand, official reprisor for TRMF, this year’s event marks a historic development in the history of the Badlands Chautauqua.
“Our 2025 Chautauqua will feature Nolan Reynolds as a twenty-eight year old Theodore Roosevelt and Luke Larson as a twenty-eight year old Marquis de Mores who founded Medora in 1883,” says Wiegand. “It’s the first time that we’ve had two men portraying TR and the Marquis at the age they were in the mid-1880’s.”
Reprisors travel from all over the United States to join the event, and many of the Chautauqua events and performances are free and open to the public while some are available as ticketed events. The Andrist Family Stage and the Von Hoffman House will be the central location for programs, marked by a white tent, a traditional mark of a Chautauqua.
“We have ten TR reprisors from eight states and others who will portray Mrs. Roosevelt and Roosevelt children,” said Wiegand.
“It’s usually a really fun event,” said Destiny Meyer, communications specialist for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation.
Public programs begin Friday morning at 9:00 AM at the Chautauqua Tent at the Von Hoffman House and continue through Sunday afternoon. Additional living history programs happen at the Chateau des Mores as part of their weekly History Alive presentations. While final details of the three-day program are pending, in addition to Wiegand and Skinner, participants include Larry and Julia Marple of Lansing, Michigan, and Adam and Maggie Lindquist of Lonsdale, Minnesota, reprising Theodore Roosevelt and his wife Edith Roosevelt. TR will also be portrayed by Peyton Dixon of Kingston, New Jersey; John Dobmeier of Barnesville, Minnesota; Nolan Reynolds of Lawrence, Kansas; Californians Justin Riner of Pasadena and Michael Romero of Santa Anna; and a special appearance by Trent Tabor of Jenks, Oklahoma, who portrays TR in the Medora Musical. Additionally, Claire Riner of Pasadena, California, and Lucy Seeve of Bozeman, Montana, will portray Roosevelt’s daughters Alice and Ethel, respectively. Bismarck’s Austin Artz, Fargo’s Raife Saarinen, and Bozeman’s Axel Seeve will play, respectively, Roosevelt sons Kermit, Archie, and Quentin. Luke Larson of Washington, DC, returns to Medora to reprise his highly acclaimed Marquis de Mores.
In previous years, the event has begun with a group hike, a nod to Theodore Roosevelt’s dedication to ‘the strenuous life.’ Each day typically continues with lectures and other creative presentations. Last year, Anthony J. Rohr, a Dickinson native and accomplished professional musician, regaled audience members with a set of songs titled ‘Tin Pan Teddy: A Presidential Adventure in Song.’ While the Guinness World Record for the most Theodore Roosevelt impersonators in one location was set in 2017 for 1,102 impersonators in Oyster Bay, New York, the Badlands Chautauqua still offers visitors to Medora a chance to experience high-quality historical reenactments.
Themed around the wildly popular 19th century educational events that originated near Chautauqua Lake in New York state, the Badlands Chautauqua typically features historical education in a similar vein, although primarily focused on the life and impact of Theodore Roosevelt.
“The Chautauqua featured lectures and musical performances that provided entertainment and intellectual and spiritual stimulation as it traveled from city to city and state to state in the days before movies, radio, and television,” explained Kurt Skinner, a Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Theodore Roosevelt reprisor and Badlands Chautauqua co-coordinator. “Now, in Medora, we celebrate the tradition of Chautauqua while we perform and share our experiences as Theodore Roosevelt reprisors.”
For more information about this year’s event, visit
https://medora.com/chautauqua/
.
