History comes to life this weekend as Joe Wiegand returns to Illinois as Teddy Roosevelt.

During performances on Saturday, April 14, in Aurora, Wiegand will salute the local American Legion in a tribute to Teddy Roosevelt that has earned rave reviews in shows across the country.

Post 84 Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion was organized in 1919 and named in honor of 20-year-old Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, who gave his life in battle over France on July 14, 1918, as a member of the 95^th Aero Squadron – United Army Air Corps.

From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 14, Wiegand will perform as Theodore Roosevelt in a “Salute to Citizenship” at the Santori Library, 101 South River St. in Aurora. The performance is free and open to the public.

A second performance by will follow at the Paramount Center for the Performing Arts, 23 East Galena Boulevard in Aurora, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and a performance from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The evening performance is also free and open to the public and will feature a free will offering to benefit the programs of the Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion Post #84.

“Bringing history to life is very important to achieving one of the pillars of our core purpose, which is to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the Great Wars,” American Legion Post Cmdr. Mike Eckburg said. “The performance by Joe Wiegand is remarkable, and I encourage everyone, young and adult, to come and listen to some of our great country’s history.”

Wiegand, a former county commissioner in Northern Illinois’ DeKalb County, has been traveling the country for a decade, performing as Theodore Roosevelt in theaters, parks, and schools, on television, and in film.

In 1982, as a student at Palatine High School in Northwest Suburban Cook County, a young Wiegand was elected Governor of the Premier Boys State, a program of the Youth and Americanism Committee of the American Legion. Wiegand went on to Washington, DC, where his peers elected him the president of the American Legion Boys Nation. Scholarships from Boys Nation sent Wiegand on to college at the University of the South, in Sewanee, TN.

“Our nation owes a great debt to the men and the women of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary who have served veterans and their families while they and their families have served the nation,” Wiegand said. “I owe a great personal debt of gratitude to the American Legion. The chance to bring a great, patriotic American to life for the benefit and entertainment of the American Legion and their guests is an honor and a real pleasure.”

Wiegand has been featured in “The Men Who Built America” on the History Channel and was featured in the I-MAX film “National Parks Adventure.” His work has been seen on C-SPAN, and Wiegand was featured at the White House on the occasion of Theodore Roosevelt’s 150^th birthday in 2008.

Based in Medora, ND, gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Wiegand travels the 50 states and internationally and is regarded as the nation’s premiere reprisor of Theodore Roosevelt.

On July 14, 2018, Wiegand and a young colleague, Austin Artz, who portrays Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, will be in France, where the same local village where Quentin was originally buried will change the name of its primary school to honor Quentin Roosevelt.

For more information, visit www.teddyroosveltshow.com

SOURCE: Post 84 Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion news release