NEW YORK, NY –
The new Off-Broadway musical “Spirit of the Game: The Ultimate Musical”, which will run from May 14 to May 17, 2026 at the well-known Asylum NYC theater, is set in the area of Knossos in Crete. The script and music are by the Cretan-descent Philip Vlahakis, while the role of Sophia is played by Cretan-born Eleanna Finokalioti from Merambello.
“It is very moving to see a high-quality Off-Broadway musical, in the cultural capital of the world, taking place in the area of Knossos. Eleanna Finokalioti, from Merambello, with her exceptional voice and outstanding acting abilities, evokes profound emotions in the audience. For me, this is a modern theatrical expression of the soul of Crete», said Nikos Kastrinakis, President of the World Council of Cretans and Executive Vice President of the Pancretan Association of America, who had the opportunity to attend rehearsals of the show.
“At the Pancretan Association of America, we have every reason to be proud, as Eleanna is a worthy descendant of the late President of the Pancretan Association of America, Konstantinos Finokalos. In addition, as Philip Vlahakis confided to me, the text was completed in Archanes, Crete”, Kastrinakis added.
The work, with text and music by Philip Vlahakis, follows Johnny Diskakis, a former athlete who returns to Crete with his father and tries to find his way again through a new and unexpected experience. At the center of the story is Sophia, played by Finokalioti, who holds a pivotal role. Through her relationship with Yiorgos, Johnny’s father, she attempts to guide him toward a new outlook on life and to confront his own inner struggles. The role also includes a strong musical component, featuring two solo songs and a significant presence in key scenes. The direction and choreography are by Liz Piccoli, while the musical direction is by Julian Blackmore. The production moves between humor and emotion, with its central themes being second chances and personal transformation.
Tickets: https://asylumnyc.com/spirit-of-the-game/
Eleanna Finokalioti
Eleanna Finokalioti is an award-winning Greek actress, performer, dancer, and activist based in New York City. She studied Theatre in Edinburgh (Queen Margaret University – BA in Performing Arts with Distinction) and Music and Piano at the National Conservatory of Athens. At the beginning of her career, she received the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet at the 2010 Olive Festival, a pan-European festival held in Milan. In 2025, she was honored with the 54ONY Award for Best Ensemble for her participation in the production Let’s Be Bad: Celebrating Broadway Villains at 54 Below in Manhattan. In recent years, she has been primarily active in New York, with work spanning theatre, film, television, and music performance.
Philip Vlahakis
As a child he was always enchanted with the family trips to Greece, where his father was born and raised. The idea of setting a story there was always in the back of his mind. And when he first envisioned the setting for Spirit of the Game: The Ultimate Musical, all the dots started to connect. Greece, as the birthplace of the Olympic games, was a natural choice – the discus (the precursor to the frisbee) of course having been in the games almost since its beginning. More specifically, he turned to his grandfather’s birthplace, Crete, home to the Minoans, the first advanced civilization in Europe — what better place to explore the notion of what it means to be civil, something at the heart of the “Spirit of the Game.”
The World Council of Cretans, founded in 2003, aims to defend and preserve the history and cultural traditions of Crete and Greece, passing them on to younger generations and the communities where Cretans live and work worldwide. Its members include the Pancretan Association of America, the Cretan Federation of Australia and New Zealand, the Pancretan Federation of Europe, the Pancretan Union of Athens, the Pancretan Brotherhood of Macedonia, the Cretan Brotherhood of Piraeus “Omonoia”, and the Pancretan Union of South Africa.
