composer & sound-designer. i do other stuff, too.

Words by Julia Gytri
Music by Avi Amon

SALONIKA is a new musical set in 1941 Salonika, Greece, as Axis forces occupy the city and its Sephardic Jewish community begins to face the looming horrors of war. A young boy and girl—both terrorized by the same soldier who was once a friend—escape the tensions around them by disappearing into a surreal world of their own creation, conjured from light and sound, and filled with shadow puppets, pirates, and talking animals.

In their story-within-a-story, a prince and princess parallel their teller’s troubles—both quest to cure their heroically fatal flaws. The prince, born too brave for his own good, must learn to feel fear. And the princess, incapable of laughter, seeks a legendary Genie trapped in the Seal of Solomon to help her escape her sorrow. As they work to alleviate their own struggles, Salonika's boy and girl mimic their invented characters' actions, setting out to find peace and a better life. The young royals eventually find their own escape route into an “invented” world of the future, where a girl and boy, much like themselves, tell stories to better understand a world thrown into chaos.

Blending Ladino folklore, Ottoman shadow play, Turkish storytelling traditions, and a rich musical palette of Middle Eastern and electronic sounds, SALONIKA turns up the volume for the voiceless, blurring lines between reality and fiction to explore the multiple—and inevitable—ways in which we are all connected through the power of storytelling.

Development History (with linked video):

  • 2022: Developmental Reading, dir. Emil Weinstein. Cast: Marinda Anderson, Erron Crawford, Belén Moyano, Jon-Michael Reese, Caesar Samayoa, Heath Saunders, Sharone Sayegh

  • 2020: Larson Legacy Concert at Adelphi University. Produced by Cynthia Tong. Cast: Ally Bonino, Belén Moyano, Jon-Michael Reese, Heath Saunders

  • 2019: Jonathan Larson Grant featuring Caesar Samayoa & Sharone Sayegh

  • 2018: Berkeley Rep Ground Floor residency & workshop

  • 2018: Residency at Weston Playhouse

  • 2017: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center winter residency