To commemorate the life of actor Gene Wilder, the Orpheum Theatre in Wichita will have a free screening of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory on Friday, September 9 at 7 p.m.
Enigmatic candy manufacturer Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) stages a contest by hiding five golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whoever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats: the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), who takes the tour in the company of his equally amiable grandfather (Jack Albertson). In the course of the tour, Willy Wonka punishes the four nastier children in various diabolical methods — one kid is inflated and covered with blueberry dye, another ends up as a principal ingredient of the chocolate, and so on — because these kids have violated the ethics of Wonka’s factory. In the end, only Charlie and his grandfather are left.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the free movie. No “golden ticket” required. Keeps tabs on this event by following the Orpheum on Facebook.
