Press Release: 2025 Gala

SOUTH COAST REPERTORY ANNOUNCES PEEK!—THE 2025 GALA

A Unique, Immersive Theatre Experience

Featuring Performances by the Cast of Million Dollar Quartet and Michelle Veintimilla (Little Shop of Horrors)

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Sept. 3, 2025)—

It’s an immersive theatrical experience unlike anything South Coast Repertory has done before. SCR’s 2025 Gala—PEEK! breaks the mold with a bold new format to reinvent the Gala experience and will welcome guests to the theatre and take them on the ultimate backstage tour. The theatre social event of the season is Saturday, Oct. 4 and tickets and host opportunities for groups of eight are available now.

The memorable evening begins behind the scenes, with a journey that takes guests through the backstage corridors of SCR. You’ll visit the scene shop, see the dressing rooms, the wig shop—and more, with entertaining surprises waiting around every turn.

Ticket holders at the Gold level or above will receive an exclusive immersive performance from a cast member of SCR’s production of Million Dollar Quartet, featuring Chris Marsh Clark (Johnny Cash), J.P. Coletta (Jerry Lee Lewis), Armando Gutierrez (Carl Perkins), Ana Marcu (Dyanne) and Rustin Cole Sailors (Elvis Presley).

After the backstage tour, guests will be greeted with flowing cocktails, creative culinary offerings and live entertainment as SCR transforms into Orange Country’s most exclusive speakeasy and jazz club for one night only. Then, they’ll literally walk on the Julianne Argyros Stage for the evening’s main event, a one-night only cabaret performance. The program will be followed by a live auction of once-in-a-lifetime experiences and a paddle raise in support of SCR’s productions and education programs.

The evening’s headliner is Michelle Veintimilla, last seen at SCR as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors last fall. Veintimilla, who will perform four songs at PEEK!, most recently starred as Brooke Ashton in The Old Globe’s production of Noises Off. Last summer, she made her Kennedy Center debut starring as Carla in Andy Blankenbuehler’s Helen Hayes Award-winning production of Nine. Previously, Veintimilla made her Broadway debut as Young Clare in the Tony-nominated musical, The Visit, alongside Chita Rivera.

A versatile and multi-talented entertainer, Veintimilla starred in ABC’s “The Baker and The Beauty,” Netflix’s “Seven Seconds,” Neil LaBute’s “The I-Land,” and “Fox’s “Gotham.” On film, she played the daughter of Salma Hayek and Alec Baldwin in the comedy Drunk Parents and, most recently, starred opposite Corey Stoll in Stephen Belber’s What We Do Next.

Harmon and Lea Kong are the chairs for the 2025 Gala. Longtime SCR supporters, they are the 2025/26 Season Producers and have also served as Honorary Producers for three mainstage SCR productions, most recently The Staircase by Noa Gardner and the Theatre for Young Audiences and Families production of The Incredible Book Eating Boy. The couple are Opening Night subscribers on both stages and Lea Kong currently sits on the Board of Trustees.

“We are honored to serve as Chairs for this year’s SCR Gala—PEEK! This year’s Gala will be unlike any other as we take you on a journey behind-the-scenes—on location—with many fun-filled surprises along the way,” Lea Kong said.

“It promises to be a night of joy, memories and celebration you won’t want to miss. With heartfelt gratitude, we thank SCR’s leaders for their vision and the entire SCR team for their dedication and hard work in creating what will truly be a night to remember for years to come,” Harmon Kong said.

PEEK! Is the theatre’s most vital annual fundraiser, with proceeds to benefit the onstage artistry and education programs of SCR. Together, those programs reach more than 65,000 Southern California residents of all ages.

The 2025 Gala Committee members include Rhonda Ducote, Michael Hards, Sarah McElroy, Talya Nevo-Hacohen, Giulia Newton, Regina Oswald, Stephanie Rogers, Susan Shieldkret, Tammy Tang and Nickie Williams.

Early supporters for the 2025 Gala include Platinum Supporters Harmon and Lea Kong; Gold Supporters Apriem Advisors, James and Rhonda Ducote, Talya Nevo-Hacohen and Bill Schenker, Pacific Life, Sabra Health Care REIT and Samuel and Tammy Tang; Silver Supporters Sophie and Larry Cripe and Michael and Janet Hards, Sarah McElroy, Schalon and Giulia Newton, South Coast Plaza, Stephen G. and Regina Oswald Foundation and Susan Shieldkret and David Dull. The Valet Sponsor is Stacey Nicholas.

For more information on host opportunities, upgraded ticket packages or sponsorships, please contact SCR at (714) 708-5521, or visit scr.org/gala.

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.

2025-26 Upcoming Productions: Million Dollar Quartet, Sept. 13-Oct. 19, 2025; The Heart Sellers, Oct. 26-Nov. 16, 2025; Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, 45^th Anniversary, Nov. 29-Dec. 28, 2025; God of Carnage, Jan. 23-March 21, 2026; Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Jan. 24-March 21, 2026; Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale, Feb. 20-March 8, 2026; Eat Me, April 12-May 3, 2026; Fremont Ave., April 25-May 23, 2026; Hershey Felder, BEETHOVEN, June 10-21, 2026. The annual showcase of new works, the Pacific Playwrights Festival, runs May 1-3, 2026.