Since 1950s, Aurora Sunset Drive-In Theater unites young and young-at-heart

The sunset lights up past and present in Aurora, Missouri, where the Sunset Drive-In Theater has brightened the community story since 1950. 

For more than 75 years, it has remained a beacon to the past – when drive-in theaters were common across America – and now is a novelty in a world that is searching for nostalgia and community connections. And it’s true for those in charge, too. As the ticket-taker told me, “Maybe it was born into me,” of her dedication to the theater. 

I met Cassandra Henson, that person in the ticket booth, on my recent visit to the Sunset, one of only a handful of drive-ins still operating in the Missouri Ozarks. (Other long-lasting examples include the Route 66 Drive-In in Carthage and the Barco Drive-in in Lamar. More recently, the Twin Crescents Drive-In opened in Buffalo.)

Aurora’s Sunset Drive-In Theater has been a destination for families and friends since the landmark opened in 1950. Today, it’s one of few operating Ozarks drive-in theaters.

Initial plans for the enduring Lawrence County landmark were announced in the Aurora Advertiser in February 1950: “They say that there will be at least 200 individual speakers,” the paper noted. Those speakers were projecting movie soundtracks by May. 

Early newspaper ads and accounts tell of two shows nightly, “rain or shine,” and family movie night at $1 per car. In May 1950, that feature was “Hollywood Barn Dance” – plus a “short” film and cartoon.  

Today, that tradition continues with seasonal showings, with movies typically on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The Sunset Drive-In’s concession stand features burgers, nachos, hotdogs, corndogs, pizza, candy, chips, soda and more — and, of course, popcorn.

The theater’s operators work to keep the experience accessible through low prices. The most it costs is $10 per person for evenings with double features. Other discounts cut the price lower – like age, if it’s a single feature, or number of people in the car. Concessions from the snack bar are intentionally kept as affordable as possible, too. 

“For a small popcorn, which is plain or buttered, $3.90 and a large is $7.35,” Cassandra tells a customer who pauses to ask about concessions prices.

The people behind the business

Cassandra Henson hurries to hand back tickets and change to customers purchasing passes for a recent show.

For much of the drive-in’s story, local folks were at its heart. Its owner, David Marks, is one of them. 

Marks – known to most as Larry – began working at the drive-in when he was in high school, and purchased the business in 1977. There was a slight blip in the 1980s, when VCRs caused a lull in the drive-in business and it briefly closed – but he’s been there ever since. 

“I always wanted it,” he said in a 2001 Springfield News-Leader article. “With a business, you either like it or you don’t. For me, there was nothing else like it.”

Cassandra Henson visits with customers as they stop by the ticket booth upon entering the drive-in theater. 

A quarter-century has passed since he spoke those words. Attendance diminished with time — and, while the theater’s history was growing, Marks’ energy was waning. Those realities led him to put the drive-in up for sale a couple of years ago.

That’s where Cassandra came back into the picture. 

Cassandra’s connections with the drive-in go back as far as she can remember. Her mom married Marks when Cassandra was 3, leading to a childhood spent with the drive-in’s glow in the background.

Cassandra wasn’t allowed in the concessions stand or the ticket office as a child, she says, but spent plenty of time picking up trash and hanging around outside.

Another show begins at Aurora’s Sunset Drive-In about dusk.

As a teenager, it didn’t feel like the Ozarks was the place for her, so Cassandra joined the military at 17 and spent years away from the region. Later, she says, she studied audio engineering and went on the road with celebrities, eventually working behind-the-scenes in costumes for TV shows like “Dancing with the Stars.” 

When Cassandra heard that the drive-in was for sale, it flipped a switch. She didn’t have enough cash to buy it but did have something else: dedication, and a growing love of history. She wanted to see it continue.

“I didn't have half a million dollars, but I said, ‘Hey, let me learn how to run it, and maybe I can acquire half a million dollars – because what good would it do me if I did have half a million dollars but not know how to run it?’”

Those months have been a learning experience, she says. There’s been behind-the-scenes work with the website and customer service, planning new events (like a swap meet) and now managing most Sunday nights. When we visited, it was one of her first times to work the ticket booth.

“My goal is, or my focus is, bringing life back to life like I saw as a kid,” says Cassandra, who notes money isn’t her main priority or necessarily even running it. If this is to be its last year, “at least making sure the last year is the year I remember it being.”

Hope for the future

Kids play on equipment — donated by nearby schools — before the movie begins. It has been there so long that a drive-in representative says, “some of the first kids that played on them are retired now.”

But, right now, things are going much better – “10 times better,” she says, pointing to increased attendance. 

Often, the drive-in has double-features, but this is a single showing of “Minions & Monsters,” a kid-focused show resulting in carloads of families. Some are return visitors; questions from others make it seem it’s their first time. 

Many moviegoers aren’t from Aurora these days, Cassandra tells me. Instead, they come from places like Springfield and Cassville, towns just far enough away yet close enough to make it feel like an accessible-yet-special trip. 

“As a matter of fact, the last time I went to a drive-in, I was a little kid,” says Trace Waterhouse, who came to the Sunset with his family, including some grandkids. “I'm 61 now. But it looked exactly like this … it looks like it's right out of the ‘70s.

“It's just fun – it's fun for the kids, exciting, and of course, you know, for being older brings back a lot of memories.”

Some of those kids play on the vintage play equipment next to the drive-in screen. Slides, not one but two vintage merry-go-rounds and more are the cause for happy laughter, one more story told in the light of the screen. 

Cassandra hopes there will be many more.

Want to visit?

Aurora’s Sunset Drive-In Theater is located at 1601 E. Church Street, Aurora. You can visit their website or Facebook page for updates.