Wichita’s historic Orpheum is unloading its old theater seats. Here’s how to snag one.
Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre will close at the end of the month for a massive renovation that’s expected to take a year, and part of that renovation will be the installation of new seats.
Now, the staff at the almost 103-year-old theater is offering those old seats — not original to the theater but still quite vintage — to people who want to take them home.
Though patrons have complained about the seats for years, a surprising number of people have been asking whether they can have them, according to a news release from The Orpheum.
The seats, most of which were donated by Towne East Square’s movie theater in the 1990s, will be up for grabs during what the theater staff is calling “Seat Week,” which lasts May 27-29. The theater has about 1,286 seats in three different styles on three levels.
For a specific time period each day, those interested in the seats will be able to visit the theater, enjoy a beverage and “tag” the seat they want. The staff is asking for a $30 donation for each seat, and those who claim them will pick them up in early to mid-June. People will be allowed to claim more than one seat.
Seats aren’t the only things the theater is selling. It’ll also be trying to move items it’s cleaned out of storage, including show posters from recent years and Orpheum merchandise. People also will be able to sign an auditorium wall.
Here’s the schedule for “Seat Week”:
5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 27: Those who come to tag seats or shop the rummage items will also be able to enjoy drinks from a cash bar.
10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 28: Coffee and treats will be served during the open hours.
4-6 p.m. Thursday, May 29: A cash bar will be available during these hours as well.
The Orpheum asks any organization that has a use for a large number of seats to contact executive director, Stacee Olden at stacee@wichitaorpheum.com or at 316-771-7993.
The Orpheum Theatre first opened on Sept. 4, 1922, and during its early decades served as a vaudeville house then a movie theater. The theater closed in 1976, and the original seats were stripped out.
A group of citizens banded together in the early 1990s to save the crumbling theater, and restoration efforts have continued ever since.
In September, the theater announced that it had finally raised enough money to begin restoring the theater to its original glory. That work is set to begin next month.
Video from our archives: Iconic Orpheum theater in downtown Wichita turns 100
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 11:56 AM.
.jpg)