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By Brian Robin

Meet Your “Little Shop of Horrors” Honorary Producers.

Honorary Producers are the unseen heroes behind SCR productions. They underwrite the shows, and provide funding support, merging their generosity with the talent on stage and back stage to create world-class theatre.

This is the second time Apriem Advisors has served as Honorary Producers of a mainstage production, the first being Prelude to a Kiss, The Musical last spring. They provided leadership support as Season Producers of Outside SCR for all four summers of the series at Mission San Juan Capistrano, underwrote every Gala since 2020, and served as Honorary Producers on four Theatre for Young Audience productions, including Dory Fantasmagory (2020), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2019), Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience (2019) and Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook (2018). Co-Founder Harmon Kong and his wife, Lea—who serves on SCR’s Board of Trustees—are passionate supporters of bold and creative initiatives that exemplify the magic of theatre. They are First Night subscribers on both stages.

Founded in 1998, Irvine-based Apriem is a wealth management company serving multi-generational families worldwide by helping them achieve a life of significance beyond success.

An ardent supporter since 2013 and an energetic ambassador for SCR in the community, Michael Ray joins Apriem in supporting Little Shop of Horrors. Ray served as Honorary Producer of six mainstage productions, including Prelude to a Kiss, The Musical (2024), What I Learned in Paris (2022), A Shot Rang Out (2021), She Loves Me (2020), M. Butterfly (2019) and, as a member of Playwrights Circle,Sheepdog (2019). Along with being an early advocate and Season Producer for all four years of Outside SCR, Ray has been an underwriter of numerous SCR galas, serving as the Co-Chair in 2021. He joined the theatre’s Board of Trustees in 2018.

Corporate Honorary Producer U.S. Bank makes “Play” possible in Orange County by investing in community programs that support ways for children and adults to play and create. This marks the 18th SCR production U.S. Bank has supported, joining Quixote Nuevo, Nina Simone: Four Women, What I Learned in Paris, American Mariachi, Once, The Tempest, Death of a Salesman and the Stephen Sondheim classic, A Little Night Music, among others. U.S. Bank executive Tara Netherton serves on SCR’s Board of Trustees.

About the author

South Coast Repertory

South Coast Repertory is a Tony Award-winning theatre is known for producing classics, contemporary hits and world premieres, for having the largest new-play development program in the nation and for advancing the art of theatre in service to the community. 

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