New theater to be named for Argyros

Young Chang

COSTA MESA -- Judie Argyros pointed Friday to the scaled-down model of

a future South Coast Repertory theater that was recently named after her

and said, “Don’t you love its little balconies? It’s romantic!”

The co-donor of $5 million to SCR’s “The Next Stage” campaign is, with

reason, excited. As a young girl in Adrian, Mich., she put on puppet

shows and performed monologues with her mother at local Rotary and

Kiwanis clubs.

Today, she and husband George Argyros were announced as the donors of

the largest gift ever made to SCR in its 37-year history. They are part

of a five-year campaign to build a new theater complex and raise $40

million.

“This is really obviously kind of the great crowning gift,” said David

Emmes, founder of SCR with co-artistic director Martin Benson.

Officials announced the gift Friday, finally disclosing the donors who

remained anonymous last fall during announcements that SCR’s Board

president Paul Folino and his family contributed $2.5 million, as did

Stacey and Henry T. Nicholas III.

The current campaign total is still announced to be about $22.6

million, though the theater has since surpassed that amount, said Chris

Gross, SCR’s director of public relations. Officials will announce the

up-to-date numbers later this summer.

The “Next Stage” initiative includes the new

Broadway-and-London-inspired 336-seat proscenium theater named The Judie

Argyros Stage, a renovated Mainstage (renamed The Segerstrom Stage) and a

99-seat Nicholas Studio, which will replace the current Second Stage.

The new theater will also house classrooms, office space for SCR’s

education department and other facilities. The front of the complex will

undergo remodeling to house a grand lobby.

Funding-goals are to raise $19 million in capital funds, $10 million

for operating costs and $11 million to the theater’s endowment.

Groundbreaking for the expansion is planned for July 25. The Judie

Argyros Stage is set to open October of 2002.

George Argyros is a longtime chairman of the board of trustees of

Chapman University. His philanthropic and business credits include the

title of chairman and chief executive officer of Arnel & Affiliates, an

investment company with locations in Costa Mesa.

Judie Argyros, who serves on SCR’s board of trustees, is also on the

Orange County Performing Arts Center’s board. As a teenager, she stole

leads in high school plays and four years ago was part of A.R. Gurney’s

“Love Letters” for a summer benefit at SCR.

“To me, life is not really fulfilled unless you have an exposure to

the arts,” she said.