PROGRAM

To mark Veteran’s Day 2017—and the 100th anniversary of U.S. entry into World War I —Roosevelt House is proud to present award-winning actor Stephen Lang in a unique theatrical experience: His Dark Land.

Re-imagining a suspended and surreal moment in history, His Dark Land unearths the mystery, confronts the controversy, and dramatizes the story of the fabled World War I “Lost Battalion”—and its tragic commander, Colonel Charles Whittlesey. As Whittlesey, unable to cope with his demons, confronts his demons after the war, his turmoil, torment, pain, and pride emerge—and are made manifest in an intimate, soul-searching conversation with journalist/writer Damon Runyon (James Naughton), who actually met and reported on the “Lost Battalion” in wartime Europe). His Dark Land artfully illuminates a mythic episode in America’s most misunderstood war—and sheds light on the battered generation who fought it, survived it, and then struggled to live with their haunting memories.

Stephen Lang, the Tony-nominated stage, film, and television star, has appeared in such plays as A Few Good Men, Death of a Salesman, and The Speed of Darkness, as well as the films Gettysburg, Tombstone, Gods and Generals, Avatar and the 2016 sleeper hit Don’t Breathe. His one-man show Beyond Glory has been made into a documentary. Lang is currently filming the Avatar sequel.

James Naughton won Best Actor Tony awards for the 1990 musical City of Angels and the 1997 production of Chicago. He has appeared on stage in such dramas as Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Antigone, and Whose Life is it Anyway? His films include The Paper Chase and The Devil Wears Prada.

Harold Holzer (narrator) is the Jonathan Fanton Director of Roosevelt House, and an award-winning historian specializing in the Civil War.

Roosevelt House’s current exhibit, “World War I and the Roosevelts: Franklin and Eleanor, Family and Friends,” also commemorates the 100th anniversary of U.S. entry into World War I. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, FDR was on the front lines of policy and operations during the war. Eleanor Roosevelt became a Red Cross volunteer, inspiring others and acquiring important organizational skills. The exhibit includes extraordinary wartime posters, photographs, and artifacts that tell their story, and depict the ways in which the war shaped the American future.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of The Stepanski Family Charitiable Trust and The Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation.