“ASTORIA”

ASTORIA
From March 14

They did not leave to become rich.
They left to endure.

In interwar New York—a city that dazzles and “devours” in equal measure—Greek immigrants build a version of Greece in a coffeehouse. A place where language, song, and memory are the only things that cannot be taxed.

Astoria is the new production of Pallas Theater, opening on March 14. It features an original script by Konstantinos Samaras and is directed by Vasilis Mavrogeorgiou. Set against a rich musical backdrop, the story explores the lives, dreams, and contradictions of the Greek immigrant community as it struggles to put down roots in a foreign land.

Greece and New York, separated by an ocean—yet united in a single coffeehouse, in the heart of the most legendary immigrant neighborhood. A place where the aroma of Greek coffee mingles with the languages of the world, and where lives intersect simply to endure.

Against the backdrop of Prohibition, economic hardship, and political turmoil, Tasoula arrives alone in New York. A city both brutal and dazzling, promising everything and granting nothing. Among skyscrapers and underground deals, the young woman is forced to confront the need to survive, to stand on her own feet, and to find her voice.

The Greek coffeehouse becomes her refuge—a place for meeting, confession, and remembrance. There, Tasoula sings of the sorrows, dreams, and passions of an entire immigrant community: people who left behind their homes, families, and former lives in search of a second chance.

Love affairs, betrayals, conflicts of interest, and secret agreements weave a dense tapestry of human stories, within which a young woman must reckon with the cost of survival and personal freedom.

Astoria is a tale for those who left and for those who stayed behind.
For the women who were forced to grow up too quickly.
For the men who learned to hide their fear.
For a community that sings so as not to disappear.

From March 14, at Pallas Theater, Astoria brings to the stage — with a live orchestra under the musical direction of Nikos Stratigos — the pain of exile with truth and deep emotion.

Credits:

Director: Vasilis Mavrogeorgiou
Written by: Konstantinos Samaras
Original Music – Orchestrations – Musical Director: Nikos Stratigos
Set Design: Manolis Pantelidakis
Costume Design: Alexia Theodoraki
Lighting Design: Stella Kaltsou
Choreography / Movement: Paris Mantopoulos
Assistant Directors: Eleni Tsinareli, Anatoli Tselaridou

Starring:
Evelyn Asouad / Theodosia Savvaki
Christos Stergioglou
Bessy Malfa
Michalis Alikakos
Giannis Tsoumarakis
Ariadni Kavalierou
Fotini Papatheodorou