Julianne Argyros announced a $5 million gift to South Coast Repertory on Saturday. Argyros, the wife of noted Orange County philanthropist George Argyros, made the announcement during the curtain call of the matinee performance of “A Christmas Carol” on the theater’s Segerstrom Stage.
It is one of the largest single donations in the history of the Tony-winning regional theater, which was founded in 1964.
Julianne and George Argyros have been leading supporters of South Coast Repertory since the 1970s. They made major contributions to the Next Stage Campaign, which led to the naming of the Julianne Argyros Stage. They have also donated to the legacy campaign to build the theater’s endowment.
The Argyroses have also contributed significantly to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The arts center’s redesigned plaza bearing the family name opened in October 2017.
The Argyroses have supported “A Christmas Carol” for 13 consecutive years. “For 56 years, SCR has thrived as a bright light in Orange County. Its future, under the leadership of David Ivers and Paula Tomei, is truly exciting,” said Julianne Argyros. “George and I are thrilled to play a part in that.”
The gift will make possible an entirely new production of A Christmas Carol, which will receive its premiere in December 2021.
Paul Hodgins is the senior editor of Arts & Culture at Voice of OC. He can be reached at phodgins@voiceofoc.org.