Wichita’s Historic Orpheum Theatre Reopens After $13 Million Restoration

From Edison’s incandescent bulbs to fiber optic technology, the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita has transformed from a Roaring ‘20s vaudeville palace to a thoroughly modern stage while staying true to the venue’s original 1922 grandeur.

After a 15-month, $13 million restoration, the meticulously restored venue made its debut on Aug. 30 with a sold-out solo piano performance by EGOT-winning, multi-Platinum artist John Legend.

“It has been so rewarding and overwhelming,” says Stacee Olden, Executive Director of the Orpheum Performing Arts Center, LTD. “We really put a lot of thought into while we were closed how to keep the community engaged and how to keep them excited and looking forward to this moment. And coming to this final piece of getting people back in the door for our biggest show ever was just something that you could feel the energy in the community, the excitement when they got inside and experienced it.”

Celebrating its 104th birthday today, the Orpheum was the first atmospheric theatre in the United States when it opened on Sept. 4, 1922. Built for vaudeville, it hosted the greats of the time including George Burns and Gracie Allen, Houdini, Chico Marx, Louis Armstrong, Jack Benny and Ella Fitzgerald.

“Vaudeville acts would go from town to town wherever there was an Orpheum theater,” explains Olden. “And the reason why they landed at Orpheums is because they were essentially built very similar. They knew when they showed up how they would be able to load in, how big the stage was. At one time there were over 100 Orpheums in the country, and from what we understand now, there’s only 17 left, and we are one of those, and we’re the last one to be fully restored. So, this is a pretty big accomplishment.”

Despite early popularity, the Orpheum closed in 1978, and a community campaign saved it from demolition and earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

“The Second Century Campaign, powered by private donations from individuals, foundations, and the business community, made this all possible,” says Olden. “This significant campaign is one to be celebrated and one for the history books.”

The campaign budget was initially $9 million when the fundraising drive launched in late 2021.

“You know, it seems like even when you finish, there’s still never enough money,” says Olden. “But that’s fundraising. You just keep going no matter what.”

That’s not to say there wasn’t due diligence, research and preparation to minimize the impact of tariffs, and other unexpected and increased costs. The team spent 18 months on the design development phase alone.

“We tried to think ahead,” says Olden. “We tried to be responsible, but we were also very, very conservative on the side of how we used that money.”

Olden said they were able to manage rising costs by applying for historic tax credits for some of the restoration projects. They plan to use a portion of that for their new endowment, which will help with long-term maintenance and capital projects.

Minimizing the amount of time the theater, which is managed by Legends Global, would be dark and setting priorities was the mission, which included having a water-tight building before they started construction.  

“We had two major priorities, and No. 1 was the historical significance – we wanted to bring as much back to life as we could from 1922,” explains Olden. “And then No. 2 was patron and performer experience – so enhancing that and elevating that was very critical.”

The restoration team stayed true to the Andalusian style originally designed by noted theater architect John Eberson. Every area of the 1,281-capacity venue was enhanced from the stage, main auditorium, mezzanine and grand balcony to back-of-house.

Important features like the original fire curtain mural weren’t just replaced, they were brought back to life by attaching a rated fire curtain to the back and using artisan painters to clean the mural, preserve it and refresh the paint.

“That was something that was extremely important for us to be able to use again to operate, to preserve, to show off, because it was really that tying piece of what our atmospheric theater is; and it’s to feel like you’re in an Andalusian garden in Spain,” offers Olden.

The ceiling’s star lights are shining again, too. Artisans restored the night sky ceiling and recreated a historically correct color palette (lush greens, terra cotta and gold), returning plaster to look like stone walls, niches, mock tile roofs, grills and lattice arches.

“The ceiling used to have the old Edison bulbs hanging above the ceiling that you couldn’t see, but it would shine through the holes in the ceiling, and so you have star lights – and that’s how they made them in in 1922,” explains Olden. “Of course, none of those were active anymore, and so we enhanced the sky again. We added this incredible fiber optic technology that has just brought those stars back to life, and they even twinkle.”

On the patron and artist experience side, Olden jokes that instead of Second Century Campaign, she could have called it the “Seat Campaign” because everyone wanted new seats. The second-hand seats handed down from an old Cineplex were replaced and new HAVC for the balcony and stage was installed.

“We only had one unit that would try to push air everywhere, and so now when you’re in the balcony and you’re watching a show as a patron, you are very comfortable as well as if you’re performing on stage, you’re comfortable as well” says Olden. “We also redid the dressing rooms for the performers, so when they come in, they have a beautiful new space to get off their tour bus and take a break before getting on stage to perform.”

Upgrades also included new rigging, acoustic panels and sound and lighting systems. The project also introduced tiered ADA-accessible seating.

The team responsible includes general contractor Eby Construction Company; architecture firm WDM Architects; decorative painters and plaster artists Conrad Schmitt Studios; theatrical consultants Schuler Shook; in addition to many local sub-contractors.

“You can get swept away and think this is a local thing, but this is such a national success story that we have been able to remain as an operating and functional theater,” says Olden. “It has meant so much to put the pieces back together of what the theater was intended to look like and feel like. And I just love that we have the ability to say that we are the first of something, and we’re still standing, and we are ready for another 100 years.”