Inside the Rio, guests will get a sense of nostalgia with the fabric curtains and up lights on stage.
Avenue in historic downtown Overland Park, Mossman says the location makes the Rio feel like a “hidden treasure.” “It’s more of a neighborhood theatre,” he said. “People know my staff. We want it to feel like home.” Originally built by Dickinson Theatres in 1946, the building was first known as the Overland Theatre. It went by several names, including the Kimo South, the Park Cinema – and was even converted to a venue for live stage performances, before Mossman and his brother Ben bought the Rio building in 1993 from Theatre of Young America. The Rio was designed by brothers Carl and Robert Boller, whose Boller Bros. architectural firm in Kansas City is credited with constructing more than 100 theaters nationwide, including The Granada Theatre in Kansas City, Kan., and the Midland Theatre in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The theatre was reopened in 2000, following a total renovation to convert the building back to a movie theatre from a stage theatre and the building was added to
National Register of Historic Places in 2005. “It’s old-school,” Mossman said, noting the effort made to preserve the original look and feel of the theatre. “We don’t have stadium seating.” Probably the most striking feature of the building’s exterior is the neon wrapping around the marquee, the front façade and the windows on each side. The lobby and the screening room are likewise bathed in vivid red and green hues, capturing the “retro- modern” look of the motion picture palaces of the 30’s and 40’s. Many of the interior accents and décor, including the chandeliers, side lights and wall dishes, were salvaged from the historic Isis Theatre that once stood at 31st and Troost in Kansas City. The 1949 Manley Popcorn Popper and lobby door trim are relics from the Plaza Theatre in Abilene, Kansas. Perhaps most impressive is the painstaking recreation of the original glass block box office and poster cases. “We had to prove to the city that it had
an exterior box office,” Mossman said. “We found a picture from a Box Office Magazine from the early 50’s, showing the “Overland Theatre” box office.” The typical fare on offer at the Rio is unlike practically anything else to be found at other local cinemas. During this past summer and fall, the theater screened documentaries about Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RGB), a contemporary French romance called “Let The Sunshine In”, a British period drama called “The Bookshop” and a biopic of Parisian author Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (“Collette”). The single-screen theatre auditorium boasts seating for 280. Mossman says the focus on rare, offbeat and unusual feature films is by design. “We have an older clientele, so we play films for those that like the arts, that like the museums, they’re higher educated,” he said. “So they’re going to want those types of films. There’s no reason to play the commercial products, because everybody and their brother is playing it on multiple screens.”
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