KPTS premieres 'Lost Theaters' documentary at Orpheum

When the Miller Theater opened May 1, 1922, at 115 N. Broadway in Wichita, a Wichita Eagle writer said it was “the greatest thing for Kansas since the signing of the armistice” that ended World War I. Seventy years later, the majestic theater – once called the most spectacular west of the Mississippi and Chicago – would be demolished to make way for a parking lot.

Just a few months after the Miller Theater made its debut, another grand theater, the Orpheum Theater, would open Sept. 4, just a block from the Miller at 200 N. Broadway. The Orpheum Theater seemed destined for a similar fate as the Miller, closing down in the mid-1970s and being slated for demolition in the 1980s before area preservationists stepped in to champion for its restoration.

A KPTS documentary of these two Wichita theaters, “Lost Theaters of Wichita,” will premiere at the Orpheum Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 23. Proceeds from the $10 general admission tickets will benefit KPTS, the public television station in Wichita, and the still-ongoing restoration efforts of the Orpheum. Doors open at 7 p.m.

“It’s a story of both theaters and the similar patterns they had with their rise and fall, with the Miller being demolished while in great condition and the Orpheum falling into disrepair,” said Jim Grawe, a journalist and content producer with KPTS who interviewed several “insiders” and a local theater history expert for the 30-minute documentary.

Grawe, who moved to Wichita about eight years to take a job at a TV station, is a self-professed history buff. He particularly likes uncovering lesser-known elements of history, and he was able to do that with this film, he said. Like finding the person who rescued the Miller’s Wurlitzer organ and in the process getting access to rare, color footage of the Miller’s last night, March 27, 1970.

Michael Coup, a member of the Wichita Theater Organ Society, had saved the organ and keeps it in the living room of his home outside Wichita, Grawe said. While Grawe was interviewing Coup about the organ, Coup mentioned that he had 16 mm film of the event commemorating the Miller’s last opening night. Coup used to arrange for organists to play on the Wurlitzer – initially used in the 1920 to accompany silent movies – in between movies or for events before the Miller shut down.

“It’s really great footage and turned out to be the best film images of the Miller that I found,” Grawe said. “That was a great find and he was generous in saying, ‘Take it and let people see it.’”

The documentary also includes interviews with former Orpheum Theater staff members Ken Crockett and Larry Robertson, who now work for Warren Theatres, and Keith Wondra, a local historian who has written a book about the Orpheum Theater.

All three, along with Wichita organist Brett Valliant, who learned to play the organ on the Miller’s Wurlitzer as a teenager, will talk more about the theaters during a post-show discussion, Grawe said. Because of a scheduling conflict, Coup is unable to attend.

Grawe said he wants the documentary, which will eventually air on KPTS at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8, to make an impact about the importance of preserving history and possibly be a catalyst for people to step up with funds to complete the Orpheum’s restoration.

“I just hope it leaves people with an appreciation for history and preserving things that are irreplaceable. I’m sure back in 1970 when the Miller Theatre was sold to (then-Fourth National) bank, most people didn’t think twice about it,” Grawe said. “History is so important and shouldn’t be discarded and forgotten. We become a better civilization by remembering our history.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 12:50 PM with the headline "KPTS premieres 'Lost Theaters' documentary at Orpheum."