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Mia Famiglia
미아 파밀리아
Official English Title
Other Titles: Apollonia
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SOURCE
original
SETTING
Foreign
BOOK
original
A mafia bar in 1930s New York
Korean Premiere
2013
Korean Premiere Theatre
Chungmu Art Hall Small Theater Blue
Further Korean run reference:
https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%AF%B8%EC%95%84%20%ED%8C%8C%EB%B0%80%EB%A6%AC%EC%95%84
The Musical search cue — “미아 파밀리아”
Summary
A compact Korean original musical that turns a 1930s New York mafia bar into a meta theatre piece, and has become one of Korea’s most frequently exported small-cast titles.
Origin & Development
Mia Famiglia (미아 파밀리아) is an original Korean musical written and composed by Lee Hee-jun (book and lyrics) and Park Hyun-sook (music). It premiered in Seoul on October 15, 2013 at Chungmu Art Hall Small Theater Blue, produced by MJStarfish. In 2019 the rights were transferred to HONGcompany, which has continued to revive the work. The title means “My Family” in Italian and is often shortened to “Mia.” Designed for three or four actors playing multiple roles, the piece layers a closing-night bar story with a staged mafia autobiography, mixing vaudeville, comedy, and noir sentiment.
The musical premiered in 2013 at Chungmu Art Hall Small Theater Blue, produced by MJStarfish, and ran from October 15, 2013 to January 15, 2014. The show has since recurred in multiple commercial revivals, including productions in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2022 festival engagement, and a fifth run scheduled for 2024–2025 under Hong Company.
Partial Synopsis
During the Great Depression, the Apollonia Inn & Bar in Little Italy faces its final night before being seized by the mafia. Two vaudeville performers, Richard and Oscar, plan to stage their usual repertory piece, but a mafia soldier interrupts and demands they perform the boss’s life story, Mia Famiglia, that same evening. The show constantly switches between three layers: the real bar, the mafia biography they are forced to enact, and a romantic repertory melodrama titled The Legend of the Brooklyn Bridge. As the lines between acting and reality blur, the characters confront fading dreams, loyalty, and the question of what survives when the stage goes dark.
阿波罗尼亚
2020
2020-08-28
to
Open Ended Run
Country:
China
City:
Shanghai
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Star Space No. 1, Asia Building
Produced by Yitai Haoxi (FocusStage) under the title Apollonia, the production opened in Star Space No. 1, the first performance space in Shanghai's Asia Building, and was marketed as the first open-ended run of its kind in China. The room was converted into a 1930s bar, with spectators seated around a central counter while three actors play every role at close range.
Playing eight to nine performances a week, with presale rounds selling out within minutes, the residency reached its 1,000th Shanghai performance in 2024 with average occupancy above 90 percent. Its success turned the Asia Building into a hub of resident small-theatre productions and led to resident replicas in other cities, a proscenium touring edition, and the prequel Santa Lucia (Mio Fratello).
阿波罗尼亚
2021
2021-10-20
to
Open Ended Run
Country:
China
City:
Chengdu
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Western Cultural Industry Center
The first resident replica outside Shanghai, opening as a long-term run in a dedicated small theatre in the Chunxi Road area. The Chengdu engagement had been announced in December 2020, while the Shanghai original was still in its first months.
阿波罗尼亚
2022
2022-02-28
to
Open Ended Run
Country:
China
City:
Guangzhou
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Tianhe City
The Guangzhou resident edition opened in February 2022 in the Beijing Road district. It later anchored South China's first cluster of resident small-theatre productions, joined in September 2024 by its prequel Santa Lucia.
阿波罗尼亚
2022–2023
2022-08-04
to
2023-03-31
Country:
China
City:
Multiple Cities
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Multiple Venues
A proscenium (镜框版) edition created so the show could reach cities without a resident venue, moving the bar setting onto a frontal stage while keeping the three-actor format.
It premiered at Beijing West End Theatre (August 4–21, 2022, 17 performances) and toured to Xi'an (Xi'an Drama Theatre Xincheng Theatre, September 2–4), Shenzhen (MixC World Theatre, October 13–16), Ningbo (Tianran Stage Grand Theatre, December 2–4), and Haikou (Haikou Bay Performing Arts Center, March 30–31, 2023).
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