Start date September 27 2025
7:30 pm CDT to 10:00 pm CDT

Ronzo Exclusive Screening

The Grand Avenue Temple 206 East 9th Kansas City, MO 64106

Attendance limit: 1000

Ronzo is a witty, heartfelt documentary about Ron Shapiro — affectionately known as Ronzo — who turned Oxford, Mississippi, from a conservative college town into an unlikely cultural mecca. His Hoka Theater became the beating heart of the town’s creative underground — a sanctuary for misfits where college students mingled with literary giants like Willie Morris, John Grisham, and Barry Hannah. The Hoka hosted music, indie films, plays, and midnight adult film screenings, and drew counterculture icons like Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg and Jerry Brown. It also helped launch the careers of artists and musicians, including members of Wilco, North Mississippi Allstars, and Widespread Panic. Outside the theater, Ronzo stirred up local politics, using wit and empathy to provoke dialogue and bridge divides.

His legacy continues through Hoka Days, an annual celebration in his honor, culminating in a lively parade in Oxford. Though Ronzo’s death left a void, his influence remains, reminding us of the power of creativity, inclusion, and the arts in shaping communities.

Ronzo’s story is told through the voices of his closest friends and family, including musicians from Wilco, Widespread Panic, and the North Mississippi Allstars; actress Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy); renowned Southern writers; and TV and radio hosts Jim Dees, John T. Edge, Robert Gordon and Tom Franklin — to name a few.

Ronzo was filmed in several cities across the south and midwest including Kansas City, Chicago, St, Louis, Memphis, Oxford, Clarksdale and New Orleans. The film is directed and Producer by Kansas City native Jon Brick.

 

 

Available Tickets

Ronzo Exclusive Screening $15.00

Ronzo Exclusive Film Screening

Saturday- September 27, 2025

The Grand Avenue Temple 206 East 9th Kansas City, MO 64106

Doors open at 7:30pm.  

 

Location