Press Release: 2024 Gala—Play On!
SOUTH COAST REPERTORY ANNOUNCES 2024 GALA—PLAY ON!
A Conversation With Melissa Rivers Headlines the Theatre Social Event of the Year
COSTA MESA, Calif. (August 15, 2024)—With award-winning writer, host and producer Melissa Rivers headlining the evening, South Coast Repertory’s 2024 Gala—Play On!—promises to dish more than fine cuisine at the Westin South Coast Plaza. Rivers is the featured performer at the theatre social event of the season, which is Saturday, Oct. 19 at SCR and the Westin.
The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a champagne reception at SCR. At 6 p.m., Rivers joins SCR Artistic Director David Ivers on the Julianne Argyros Stage. The event moves to the Westin at 6:45 p.m. for a cocktail reception, with dinner following at 7:30 p.m. Elite Show Band will play after dinner, providing entertainment for the dance floor until 11 p.m.
In anticipation of the world premiere of Joan by Daniel Goldstein, Gala guests will be treated to an entertaining and candid conversation between Rivers and Ivers about her mother—iconic comedian Joan Rivers. Melissa Rivers will share the personal side of her mother with stories that promise to engage and enlighten as they bring an American Icon to life.
This special performance gives Gala patrons insight into the story behind Joan, which takes the Julianne Argyros Stage Oct. 27-Nov. 24.
Kristen and Adrian Griggs return to chair the 2024 Gala Committee. The husband-and-wife team chaired last year’s 60th Season Gala and have been enthusiastic supporters of SCR. Adrian Griggs serves on the SCR Board of Trustees as Vice President/Finance. They were honorary producers for six Pacific Playwrights Festivals and they are First Night (opening night) subscribers on both the Segerstrom and Julianne Argyros stages.
SCR’s annual Gala is the theatre’s most vital fundraiser, with proceeds supporting SCR’s onstage artistry, as well as it’s education and outreach programs. Together, those programs reach more than 65,000 Southern California residents of all ages. Tickets and tables are now on sale by calling (714) 708-5521, at scr.org/gala, or by emailing [email protected].
The 2024 Gala will also feature a raffle of exclusive luxury items and unique experiences. Single raffle tickets are $300 each or five for $1,200, with the proceeds helping further SCR’s artistic and educational mission. Winners need not be present to win. Visit scr.org/gala for additional details and purchasing information.
The 2024 Gala Committee members include Leona Aronoff-Sadacca, Monica Guillena, Wendy Hales, Michael Hards, Mariam Khosravani, Lea Kong, Talya Nevo-Hacohen, Stacey Nicholas, Regina Oswald, Stephanie Rogers and Susan Shieldkret.
Early underwriters for the 2024 Gala include Gold Underwriters Apriem Advisors, Leona Aronoff-Sadacca, Steve and Laurie Duncan, Talya Nevo-Hacohen and Bill Schenker, Pacific Life Foundation, South Coast Plaza, and Samuel and Tammy Tang and Silver Underwriters Stephen G. & Regina Oswald Foundation, Susan Shieldkret and David Dull and Socorro and Ernesto Vasquez.
A limited number of $1,500 Gala single tickets are available. For table sponsorships, information on upgraded single-ticket packages or sponsorships, please contact SCR at (714) 708-5521.
Location: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the David Emmes/Martin Benson Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available on Park Center Drive, off Anton Boulevard.
For the Gala, valet parking will take place at the Westin before the 5:30 p.m. reception.
2024-25 Productions: Little Shop of Horrors, Sept. 21-Oct. 19, 2024; Joan, Oct. 27-Nov. 24, 2024; A Christmas Carol, Nov. 30-Dec. 24, 2024; Wish You Were Here, Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2025; Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and The Tsar, Feb. 19, March 2, 2025; Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along!, March 3, 2025; The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Feb. 28-March 16, 2025; You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!, April 5-May 4, 2025; The Staircase, April 27-May 18, 2025. The annual showcase of new works, the Pacific Playwrights Festival, runs May 2-4, 2025.
Complete information is available at www.scr.org.
ABOUT SOUTH COAST REPERTORY: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Paula Tomei. SCR is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern plays and musicals, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program—The Lab@SCR—which includes one of the nation’s largest commissioning programs for emerging, mid-career and established writers. Of SCR’s more than 500 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres. SCR-developed works have garnered two Pulitzer Prizes and eight Pulitzer nominations, several Obie Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, Calif., SCR is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. www.scr.org