John Legend will headline big reopening concert for Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre
Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre is about to reopen after a $13 million renovation that has taken more than a year.
And after it does, it will celebrate with a concert by a well-known performer — singer John Legend, one of the few entertainers who has achieved EGOT status by winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
Legend will help launch a new era of the Orpheum at a concert scheduled for Aug. 30. The concert will mark the theatre’s official reopening, said executive director, Stacee Olden.
Tickets will be on sale starting at 10 a.m. July 24 at www.wichitaorpheum.com, at www.selectaseat.com, by phone at 316-755-7328 or in person at the Select-a-Seat box office inside Intrust Bank Arena. Ticket prices won’t be announced until they go on sale, Olden said.
Olden shared the news at a Friday-morning news conference in the lobby of the theater, whose restoration has yet to be revealed to the public. It includes new seats, new floors and carpet and repaired and repainted plasterwork.
Olden said at the news conference that it took the staff some time to settle on a headliner for the reopening show.
“This artist needed to be one who could match the glorious moment of the multimillion dollar restoration; one who would be part of the legends who stepped foot on our historic stage over the past 103 years like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Houdini and many more; one who would be cemented in this historic moment that if you aren’t in attendance on this special night, you will surely pass the memory to future generations.”
Legend, 47, is known for hits like “All of Me” and "Ordinary People.” He’s won 13 Grammy awards and earned an Emmy in 2018 for producing NBC’s adaptation of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.” His Oscar was for Best Original Song for the 2015 movie “Glory.” And he won a Tony in 2017 for co-producing the Broadway play “Jitney,” which won the award for Best Revival of a Play.
He’s also known for serving as a coach and judge on NBC’s “The Voice.”
The 104-year-old Orpheum Theatre has been closed since May of last year so that crews could finish restoring it to its former glory. The theater first opened on Sept. 4, 1922, designed as a vaudeville house with an “atmospheric” interior design intended to resemble a Spanish courtyard.
It’s the last survivor of the grand Wichita theaters built in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 11:11 AM.
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