Press Release: Peek! Gala 2025

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: SOUTH COAST REPERTORY’S 2025 GALA—PEEK! RAISES MORE THAN $551,000 FOR ARTISTRY AND EDUCATION

Guests Treated to Immersive Backstage Experience and Cabaret Performance by Stage and Screen Actor Michelle Veintimilla

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Oct 13, 2025)—South Coast Repertory (Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Suzanne Appel) celebrated its unique immersive 2025 Gala—PEEK! on Saturday, October 4 by raising more than $551,000. Those proceeds provide vital support for creating extraordinary performances built by and produced by the theatre, and they help serve more than 9,000 students who receive free or deeply discounted tickets to SCR performances and programs.

Harmon and Lea Kong chaired the Gala, supported by the Gala Committee consisting of Rhonda Ducote, Michael Hards, Sarah McElroy, Talya Nevo-Hacohen, Giulia Newton, Regina Oswald, Stephanie Rogers, Susan Shieldkret, Tammy Tang and Nickie Williams.

“What an honor and privilege it was to chair SCR’s completely reimagined Gala, PEEK! The evening was magical in every way with amazing food, immersive one-of-a-kind entertainment, spectacular behind-the-scenes theatre experiences, great conversations and incredible impactful fundraising,” Harmon Kong said.

“Thank you to our Gala Committee, SCR production team, host sponsors, and the many others who supported the gala. The event was a powerful testament of the dynamic, dual leadership and vision of Suzanne Appel and David Ivers,” Lea Kong said.

From start to finish, SCR’s Emmes/Benson Theatre Center was transformed by event designer Sarah Krainin and lighting designer Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz. Loading docks, backstage hallways, dressing rooms and other rarely seen spaces at the theatre were decorated with swooping curtains, glittering string lights, warm lamp light—along with patterned carpets.

With 156 guests dressed in jazz club chic and dancing shoes, fringed cocktail dresses, suspenders and fedoras, they arrived to an al fresco champagne and hors d’oeuvres reception. Awaiting them was an immersive theatre experience that began with guided backstage tours through SCR’s scenic, wardrobe and wig and makeup shops.

From there, Gold-level sponsors were treated to private music performances in the dressing rooms from the rock-and-roll legends featured nightly in SCR’s production of the Tony Award-nominated Million Dollar Quartet—Rustin Cole Sailors (Elvis Presley), Chris Marsh Clark (Johnny Cash), JP Coletta (Jerry Lee Lewis), Ana Marcu (Dyanne) and Huntington Beach native Armando Gutierrez (Carl Perkins).

Following the backstage tour, guests dined from five gourmet food stations created by Chef Nick Weber of Catering by Mix Mix on the lawn outside the theatre’s stage-door entrance. Weber’s menu included lobster rolls, a hand-tossed salad served in a cone, burrata bar, an ahi tuna sashimi carving station, and a prime rib carving station with white cheddar mashed potatoes,.

After dinner, guests stepped the Julianne Argyros Stage at intimate cabaret tables adorned with fabrics from SCR’s costume shop. They were treated to a view enjoyed only by actors on SCR’s stage. From that rare view, guests were welcomed by SCR Artistic Director David Ivers, Managing Director Suzanne Appel, Gala Chairs Harmon and Lea Kong and U.S. Bank OC Market President Joseph Hensley.

“We are so grateful to our Gala Chairs Harmon and Lea Kong for leading our reimagined Gala, PEEK!,” Appel said. “It was extraordinary — our patrons learned about our work directly from our artisans and technicians, got an up-close immersive experience with our artists, and then were moved to raise their paddles in support of South Coast Repertory.”

Vocalist Michelle Veintimilla took the stage for a cabaret performance of four songs. Accompanied by pianist Tom Griep, Veintimilla performed “Get Happy,” “It Never Was You,” “Thou Swell” and “Somewhere That’s Green” from Little Shop of Horrors. Veintimilla played Audrey in SCR’s 2024 production of the popular musical. Veintimilla’s theatre credits include The Visit on Broadway and Nine at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and she has appeared on numerous television shows, including “Gotham” (Bridgit Pike/Firefly) and “The Gifted” (Carmen Guerra) on Fox and “Seven Seconds (Marie Jablonski) and “The I-Land” (Hayden) on Netflix.

After the performance, a live auction and paddle raise, guests moved into the Nicholas Studio for an after-party featuring dancing with a live DJ, an ice cream station and an espresso martini bar. Guests also took home treats that included gourmet cookies from Mix Mix, an ACCESS Suite pass from South Coast Plaza and an invitation to a future Opening Night performance at SCR.

“Our Gala—PEEK! was a spectacular and galvanizing fundraising evening celebrating SCR and our amazing community,” Ivers said. “I want to give huge thanks to all our guests for their generosity and South Coast Repertory’s tremendous staff for their vision and support.”

The live auction items included a Wine, Whiskey and Winter Wonderland package, bringing the winner two exclusive luxury experiences in one memorable week. The package included a week-long stay in a Big Bear mountain cabin near Snow Summit, donated by Sherry and Paul Main. The luxurious getaway came with a curated wine or whiskey tasting led by a sommelier. That experience was donated by Nickie and Mickey Williams.

Next came a Weekend in New York—SCR Style, which was a popular item from the 2024 Gala. The package included joining Ivers and Appel in New York for a world-class weekend of theatre, dining and extraordinary insider experiences.

The final item was The Ultimate SCR Experience, consisting of four premium tickets to every show, parking and drink vouchers, exclusive invitations to donor events through the year, a deluxe two-night stay at the Avenue of the Arts Hotel, dinner for two at The Park Club, a gift card to South Coast Plaza with an annual valet pass, ACCESS suite and a two-hour personal styling session. The package also included dinner with Ivers, Appel and a director of an SCR production.

Luminaries who attended included the Kongs, Hensley, Talya Nevo-Hacohen, President of SCR’s Board of Trustees and Bill Schenker; Past Board President Sophie Cripe and Larry Cripe; Segerstrom Center for the Arts President Casey Reitz; CEO of Orange County Music & Dance Douglas Freeman and Lynn Freeman; first-year Board member Laura Cushing, former SCR Trustees Joann Leatherby and Leona Aronoff-Sadacca, longtime SCR supporters and community philanthropists Bill and Ronna Shipman and Judy and Wes Whitmore, and Patrick Brien, the President and CEO of Arts Orange County.

The Gala Underwriters included Platinum Hosts Harmon and Lea Kong, Gold Hosts Apriem Advisors, James and Rhonda Ducote, Talya Nevo-Hacohen and Bill Schenker, Pacific Life, Sabra Health Care REIT, Elizabeth Segerstrom and Samuel and Tammy Tang, Silver Hosts Leona Aronoff-Sadacca, Sarah McElroy, Schalon and Giulia Newton, South Coast Plaza, Stephen G. and Regina Oswald Foundation and Susan Shieldkret and David Dull. The Valet Sponsor was Stacey Nicholas. The Wine Sponsors were Nevo-Hacohen, Schenker, Shieldkret, Dull and Nickie Williams.

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.