Jimmy Georgiades Photo by Dorice Arden Madronero

The play begins with an unexpected letter arriving on Georgiades' doorstep, from a supposed brother he never knew he had, living in Crete. At first, he disregards the letter as a hoax or an annoyance. But as the story unfolds, we slowly come to realize that this brother–and the hidden lineage he represents–are all too real. What starts as a simple inquiry becomes the catalyst for a sweeping journey. As Georgiades learns more about the biological father he never met, he is drawn into a quest to understand where he truly comes from. The narrative carries us from the bustling streets of Greektown in New York City to suburban New Jersey, and ultimately across the ocean to the sun-soaked Greek isles. Along the way, Georgiades becomes a modern-day Odysseus, embarked on his own odyssey of self-discovery.

Drawing on his upbringing as the son of a Greek single mother–a fiercely independent belly dancer whose own mother disapproved of both her career and her choices in men–Georgiades conjures an astonishing dozen characters with quicksilver clarity. He slips effortlessly from the gravelly voice of his mafia-connected stepfather to the lilting tones of that judgmental grandmother, from tough street kids to the vulnerable, searching child he once was. The result is a kaleidoscopic portrait of family, survival and identity that feels both intimate and epic.

Gretchen Cryer's direction is pitch-perfect, finding dynamic stage pictures in what might otherwise be static monologue. She paces the piece with remarkable precision, letting the story breathe while never losing momentum. The production feels wonderfully alive, a testament to the chemistry between actor and director.

But perhaps the most impressive quality of Son of Zeus is how effortlessly it transcends its cultural specificity. Yes, it is about growing up Greek in New York City, but you don't have to be Greek to feel the pang of recognition in these stories–about mothers and sons, about longing to belong, about searching for love in all the wrong places.

The word storyteller has become so overused in recent years that it's almost lost its meaning, applied to everyone from marketers to influencers to anyone with a social media account. But true storytelling is an art form–one that demands not just the ability to recount events, but the gift to shape them into something larger than themselves. Very few people genuinely possess that gift: the power to transport an audience, to turn the personal into the universal, and to make us see our own lives reflected in someone else's journey. Jimmy Georgiades is one of those rare, authentic storytellers–a master storyteller, and he proves here that a life honestly examined can be every bit as thrilling as fiction.

Son of Zeus is a lovely, heartfelt, and superbly performed evening of theater. Don't miss it.

Son of Zeus runs through July 27, 2025, at Penguin Rep Theatre, 7 Crickettown Road, Stony Point NY. For tickets and information, please visit www.penguinrep.org.