Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

Il gufo e la gattina, Bill Manhoff's comedy The Owl and the Pussycat, with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino, directed by Covatta himself, is on at Teatro Manzoni, Via Monte Zebio 14/C (00195 Rome), from May 6 to 23, 2027. The theater is in the Della Vittoria district, about 800 meters' walk from the Lepanto stop on Metro A. The times of individual performances and the prices of the sections are published by the theater when you book. Tickets are sold on the official Teatro Manzoni website, from the show's page, or at the box office on Via Monte Zebio, open Monday from 15:00 to 20:00, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, and Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 20:00.

Language: performed in Italian. No English version or English surtitles are announced.

A prostitute and a failed writer, two lonely people in the same shady, ill-frequented apartment building, forced to live together amid shouting, arguments and vows of eternal hatred: the comedy that in 1970 became a film with Barbra Streisand and George Segal comes to the Manzoni for almost three weeks, with a comedian from Taranto raised in Naples and an actress from Torre Annunziata.

Il gufo e la gattina at Teatro Manzoni: dates at a glance

Il gufo e la gattina is on at Teatro Manzoni from Thursday, May 6 to Sunday, May 23, 2027, according to the official show page.

Almost three weeks

18 days on the program, from the first Thursday in May to the second-to-last Sunday of the month: a long run, following the formula the Manzoni has always used, with companies on the bill for at least three weeks.

The times

The show's page doesn't list the time of individual performances. The full calendar, with evening shows and any weekend matinees, can be checked on the theater's website when you book or by calling the box office.

Where to buy tickets

Tickets are sold on the official Teatro Manzoni website and at the box office at Via Monte Zebio 14/C. The show's page also links to the theater's subscription options, useful if you follow several titles in the season.

Il gufo e la gattina: what the comedy is about

Il gufo e la gattina is a comedy by Bill Manhoff about the forced encounter between a prostitute and a failed writer, neighbors in a shady apartment building: two lonely people who clash and end up falling in love.

The two leads

She lives by her wits, he on frustrated ambitions. Both, the theater writes, carry their own loneliness and desperation, in a building with a bad crowd where nobody seems to belong. It's the classic two-hander situation: few characters, one place, a clash of opposite personalities.

Forced cohabitation

The engine of the story is forced cohabitation. Made to share the same space, the two yell at each other, argue and swear eternal hatred: the mechanism of the romantic comedy in which fights pave the way to falling in love.

The ending

The theater says it plainly: amid shouting, arguments and vows of eternal hatred, the two will end up in love. It's not a mystery, and the pleasure isn't in a surprise ending but in the path that leads two wounded people to recognize each other.

From the 1970 film to the Manzoni stage

The Manzoni presentation recalls that Il gufo e la gattina is the delightful 1970 comedy with Barbra Streisand and George Segal: the film version is what made the story famous.

A comedy for two actors

Manhoff's text lives almost entirely on the face-off between its two leads: that's why theaters revive it regularly, and why it works on an intimate stage like the Manzoni's. Everything depends on the chemistry of the couple on stage.

Streisand and Segal

In the 1970 film the couple was Barbra Streisand, already a singing and musical star, and George Segal. At the Manzoni the roles go to Patrizia Pellegrino, also a singer as well as an actress, and Giobbe Covatta, comedian and writer: a pairing that, on paper, respects the spirit of the original couple.

Covatta as director

Covatta isn't just a performer: he also directs. For a comedian used to writing and staging his own monologues, it's a natural step, and it promises a reading of the comedy built on comic timing.

Who Giobbe Covatta is

Giobbe Covatta, stage name of Gianmaria Covatta, is a comedian, writer, actor and activist born in Taranto on June 11, 1956 and raised in Naples, where his family moved when he was three.

From the Derby to television

While working in shipping, he tried his hand at comedy at the Derby Club in Milan, where he met many comedians of the new scene, including Enzo Iacchetti. He made his TV debut in 1987 on Odeon TV with Una notte all'Odeon, and in 1988 on Rai 2 with Tiramisù. The breakthrough came in 1990 with the Maurizio Costanzo Show, where he became one of the most frequent guests.

His books

His first book, Parola di Giobbe, a comic retelling of the Bible published in 1991, sold a million copies. It was followed by Pancreas, a spoof of the classic book Cuore, Sesso? Fai da te!, Dio li fa e poi li accoppa, L'incontinente bianco, A nessuno piace caldo, Donna sapiens and Il commosso viaggiatore, written with Paola Catella.

Theater

In 1991 he debuted at Teatro Ciak in Milan with Parabole iperboli, followed by Aria condizionata, made with Greenpeace, Primate assoluto, Art directed by Ricky Tognazzi, Dio li fa e poi li accoppa, Melanina e varechina on the relationship between Africa and the West, Trenta, on the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 6° on global warming, and with Enzo Iacchetti Niente progetti per il futuro, 87 performances, and Matti da slegare.

Activism

Covatta is an ambassador for AMREF and a spokesperson for Save the Children. With the show Trenta he began working with Amnesty International on the defense of human rights. In Rome he was elected to the city council in 2006.

Giobbe Covatta in film, on TV and in stage duos

Alongside theater and books, Giobbe Covatta has built a long career on the small and big screen, and has plenty of experience acting in pairs, the same skill Il gufo e la gattina demands.

Film

He made his big screen debut in 1993 with Nanni Loy's Pacco, doppio pacco e contropaccotto, followed by Simona Izzo's Camere da letto and, in 1999, Massimo Martelli's Muzungu, which he starred in and cowrote. More recently he acted in Fausto Brizzi's Poveri ma ricchi and Poveri ma ricchissimi and in Sergio Assisi's Il mio regno per una farfalla. In 2002 he appeared in Giulio Manfredonia's documentary Sono stato negro pure io, and in the Italian version of Brave he voiced the character played in the original by Robbie Coltrane.

Television

Between 2001 and 2002 he was on Rai 2 with Serena Dandini and Corrado Guzzanti in L'ottavo nano. From 2003 to 2005 he was a regular guest on the Gialappa's Band show Mai dire Domenica. In the 2007-2008 season he brought a new character to Zelig, and in 2008 he played Dr. Colantuono in the series Medici miei. His passion for sailing also took him to Velisti per caso and Vela spiego io, on a channel devoted to sailing.

The duo with Enzo Iacchetti

His longest partnership is with Enzo Iacchetti, whom he met in the Derby days. Since 2011 the two have staged Niente progetti per il futuro, written and directed by Francesco Brandi, for 87 performances across Italy, and in the 2016-2017 season Matti da slegare. Acting as a pair, with comic timing passed from one performer to the other, is a well-tested craft for Covatta: the ideal condition for a comedy like Manhoff's.

Who Patrizia Pellegrino is

Patrizia Pellegrino is an actress, showgirl, singer and TV host born in Torre Annunziata on July 28, 1962, who since the late 1980s has devoted herself mainly to the theater.

Beginnings

She made her film debut in 1977 in Tiziano Longo's Onore e guapparia. On television she appeared alongside Peppino di Capri and was chosen by Luca De Filippo as the lead in Petrosinella.

Television and music

In the 1980s she hosted Chewing gum show with Maurizio Micheli for Rai, as well as Night and Day, Chi tiriamo in ballo and Il piacere dell'estate. In 1991 she hosted the afternoon episodes of Cantagiro, and from 1993 Sereno variabile alongside Osvaldo Bevilacqua. In 1981 the theme song Beng!!! from Gran Canal, launched by Corrado, reached No. 19 in sales, followed by singles like Matta-ta and two albums, the last one of Neapolitan songs.

Theater

On stage she has worked with Pietro Garinei in A che servono gli uomini, with Fiorenzo Fiorentini in Morto un papa, with Ennio Coltorti in Kiss Me, Stupid, André Roussin's La capannina and Neil Simon's Due scapoli e una bionda, and with Enrico Guarneri in L'aria del continente, The School for Wives and The Miser. In recent years she has appeared in Ricette d'amore, Sexy e indecise, La Venexiana and the monologue Ho scelto di sorridere, which she wrote and directed.

Recent shows

In recent years Patrizia Pellegrino has returned to hosting: in 2019 with Una cabina per due, in 2024 with Viaggi diVini on Mediaset Infinity, and in 2025 with I sapori del Mediterraneo. In 2025 she was also a contestant on the Rai 1 talent show Ne vedremo delle belle, devoted to showgirls of different generations. Her TV work runs parallel to her stage work, and explains the actress's broad popularity with the Manzoni audience.

Recent film

In film she has acted, among others, in Massimiliano Bruno's Viva l'Italia and Pupi Avati's La quattordicesima domenica del tempo ordinario. Avati had already directed her in the TV film Il bambino cattivo.

A curious fact about Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

The most interesting curious fact concerns the couple. In the 1970 film Barbra Streisand played the woman in the building: one of the greatest singers of her time, in a comic acting role. At the Manzoni the role goes to Patrizia Pellegrino, who also has a singing career, from the 1981 theme song Beng!!! to Neapolitan songs. Two performers who come to the comedy from music, more than half a century apart.

The second curious fact is a Neapolitan one. Covatta was born in Taranto but raised in Naples, and Pellegrino is from Torre Annunziata, on the bay. His first book, Parola di Giobbe, was presented as a translation from the Neapolitan original Dicette Giobbe. An American comedy entrusted to two artists shaped by Naples has a very good chance of finding, in its comic timing and its quarrels, a thoroughly Mediterranean rhythm.

A third curious fact: Covatta made his Rome debut in 1996, at Teatro Parioli, with Io e lui, written and directed with Vincenzo Salemme and Francesco Paolantoni. 30 years later he returns to a theater in north Rome, this time directing himself.

Teatro Manzoni, the hall on Via Monte Zebio

Teatro Manzoni is at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, in the Della Vittoria district, and is a multipurpose hall born as a theater in the mid-1980s in place of a neighborhood cinema, Cinema Montezebio.

Origins

The theater gives 1985 as its founding year, by Carlo Alighiero and Pietro Longhi, while the City of Rome tourism portal dates the opening to 1986. Today Manzoni is run by Cooperteatro 85, and the artistic director is Pietro Longhi.

A hall for many genres

Manzoni hosts drama, dance, music, series and talks. The 2026/2027 season includes the series Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee directed by Alessandro Vaccari, Manzoni Danza and the family shows of Un teatro da favola.

Services

The City tourism portal lists for Manzoni a bar, cloakroom, restrooms for people with disabilities, accessibility and a dog sitting service, rare in Roman theaters.

Something nobody tells you about Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

What nobody says is that Il gufo e la gattina is a comedy born in another era, with a heroine who works as a prostitute and a man who thinks he's a writer. In 1970 the situation was daring. Today it amuses in a different way, and much depends on how the direction looks at the woman in the building: caricature or real character. The Manzoni presentation stresses the loneliness and desperation of both, a sign pointing in the second direction.

The second thing concerns the audience. A two-hander comedy lives on the room's reactions: weekend performances are usually the liveliest, midweek ones the calmest, good if you want to follow the dialogue closely.

The third thing: the neighborhood. Manzoni is outside the historic center, and evening parking in the Della Vittoria district is hard. In May, north Rome is also the area of Foro Italico and the Internazionali tennis tournament: Metro A to Lepanto remains the most reliable option.

How to get to Teatro Manzoni

The nearest metro station to Teatro Manzoni is Lepanto, on line A, about 800 meters' walk from Via Monte Zebio 14/C: about 10 minutes on flat ground.

By metro

From Lepanto walk north through Prati to the Della Vittoria district. From Termini, line A toward Battistini reaches Lepanto in a few minutes. For evening performances, check the time of the last train on the transit company's website.

By bus

The district is served by several bus lines. Check lines and evening times on the transit company's journey planner on the day.

By car and taxi

Street parking in the evening is scarce: if you drive, allow extra time and check that the area isn't reserved for residents. If you're traveling with elderly people, a taxi to the entrance on Via Monte Zebio is the most comfortable option.

My tip for Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

My tip is to watch the 1970 film with Barbra Streisand and George Segal before going to the theater. Knowing it lets you appreciate the staging's choices: where American cinema relied on stars and close-ups, the theater relies on pace and the chemistry of the live couple. Comparing Streisand's heroine with Patrizia Pellegrino's is one more small pleasure.

My second tip concerns the date. With almost three weeks of performances there's time to choose: in our opinion the second week, when the show has found its balance in front of the Roman audience and the halls are less crowded than at the opening, is the best time.

Third tip: choose a central seat in the front rows. In a two-hander comedy the characters' reactions, looks and pauses matter as much as the lines. Manzoni is an intimate hall, but from the back rows some details get lost. For seats and times, the contact is the theater box office.

Another well-known fact, yet one rarely mentioned

It's well known that Giobbe Covatta is a TV comedian, made famous by the Maurizio Costanzo Show. It's mentioned much less often that he was one of the first Italian comedians to turn comedy into a tool for civic engagement: Aria condizionata, in 1994, was made with Greenpeace to protect whales, Trenta told one by one the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and 6° staged global warming. A comedian who for 30 years has brought to the theater topics many colleagues avoid.

A second rarely mentioned fact concerns Patrizia Pellegrino: from the late 1980s she chose the theater, where, as her biographies note, she could play more demanding roles, and she has worked with directors and actor-managers of the Italian tradition like Pietro Garinei, Fiorenzo Fiorentini and Enrico Guarneri.

Finally, about Manzoni: the choice of long runs, at least three weeks for each company, according to the artistic direction has let many artists build a lasting bond with the audience. For a comedy like this, which lives on word of mouth, it's the ideal formula.

The right photo to take at Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

The right photo is taken in front of the Teatro Manzoni entrance on Via Monte Zebio, with the show's poster and the names of Covatta and Pellegrino. It's a neighborhood theater, far from the monuments: the image tells of a residential Rome of early 20th-century buildings and tree-lined avenues that visitors rarely see.

During the show, no photos or filming: in a two-hander built on comic timing, a lit screen distracts actors and audience. The right moment, if the staff allows it, is the final bow, with the two performers at the front of the stage.

The second photo, if you arrive a bit early on a May evening, is taken along the Tiber, heading down from Prati toward Castel Sant'Angelo: the lit-up castle and the river are the postcard that completes an evening in north Rome.

The Della Vittoria district and surroundings

Teatro Manzoni is in the Della Vittoria district, north of Prati, a residential area away from the main tourist routes.

Prati and Castel Sant'Angelo

Heading south you enter Prati, and further down, toward the Tiber, is Castel Sant'Angelo. The page on Prati and Borgo helps you plan an afternoon before an evening performance.

Foro Italico and Ponte Milvio

Across the Tiber, to the north, are Foro Italico and Stadio Olimpico, and further north Milvian Bridge, with bars and restaurants open late.

Monte Mario

North Rome also has the Monte Mario Nature Reserve, a green area worth considering for a May afternoon before an evening performance.

Some important events that happened here in history

The history of Teatro Manzoni begins in the mid-1980s, when Carlo Alighiero and Pietro Longhi turned the former Cinema Montezebio, in the Della Vittoria district, into a theater. The theater gives 1985 as its founding year, the City tourism portal 1986 as its opening year: the sources disagree by a year, but both speak of 40 years of activity. The name of the company that runs it, Cooperteatro 85, keeps the year the project was born.

The first feature of its history is the choice of long runs, with companies on the bill for at least three weeks. The second is the growth of cultural initiatives: Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee, born from an idea by Carlo Alighiero and directed by Alessandro Vaccari, have become evenings of readings, music, images and debates.

In the 2026/2027 season Manzoni opened with Gin Game with Pambieri and Villoresi and hosted in winter Fiore di cactus with Jannuzzo and Boccoli. Il gufo e la gattina arrives in spring, as one of the comedies that close the season.

Who has passed through Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino at Teatro Manzoni, May 6 to 23, 2027

For the Scrittori in scena series, the Teatro Manzoni stage has welcomed writers like Antonio Scurati, Maurizio de Giovanni, Gianrico Carofiglio, Corrado Augias, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Melania Mazzucco, Serena Dandini, Stefano Massini and Fabio Volo. It's the sign of a curious audience, used to moving from comedy to debate.

The story of Il gufo e la gattina, before reaching Manzoni, passed through Barbra Streisand and George Segal, stars of the 1970 film. Covatta's career includes Enzo Iacchetti, his stage partner for years, Vincenzo Salemme and Francesco Paolantoni, Ricky Tognazzi, Maurizio Costanzo, Serena Dandini and Corrado Guzzanti of L'ottavo nano, and Nanni Loy, who directed him on screen in Pacco, doppio pacco e contropaccotto.

Patrizia Pellegrino's career includes Luca De Filippo, Corrado, Peppino di Capri, Pietro Garinei, Fiorenzo Fiorentini, Osvaldo Bevilacqua, Enrico Guarneri and Pupi Avati. From May 6 to 23 Via Monte Zebio welcomes two artists who have spanned 40 years of Italian entertainment, taking on a two-hander comedy that film made famous.

Accessibility and practical information

The City of Rome tourism portal lists Teatro Manzoni as accessible to people with disabilities and equipped with dedicated restrooms. For the location of reserved seats, call the box office before buying.

Age

Il gufo e la gattina is a romantic comedy for adults: the heroine is a prostitute and the dialogue is lively. In our opinion it's suitable from age 14 up, for those who enjoy dialogue-driven comedy.

Where to eat

Between the Della Vittoria district and Prati there are neighborhood trattorias, pizzerias and bars, used more by residents than by tourists. For evening performances, eat afterward. For any matinees, have lunch in Prati before the show.

How to plan your evening at Manzoni

Teatro Manzoni is in a residential neighborhood, far from the monuments: the evening works best with a little advance planning, combining theater, dinner and getting home.

Before the show

If you're coming from the center, Metro A to Lepanto and a walk through Prati is the simplest way. If you have the afternoon free, you can start from Castel Sant'Angelo and walk up toward the Della Vittoria district, stopping for an aperitivo along the way.

After the show

On the way out, the neighborhood trattorias and pizzerias are the easiest choice. If you want to extend the evening, you can move toward Ponte Milvio, where places stay open late.

If you're coming from outside Rome

If you arrive by train at Termini, you reach Lepanto on Metro A with no changes. For evening performances, check the time of the last train and, if needed, book a taxi home.

May in Rome, at the theater and beyond

The three weeks of Il gufo e la gattina coincide with one of the liveliest periods of the Roman year, especially in the north of the city.

Tennis at Foro Italico

Until May 16, not far from Manzoni, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2027 are being played: during the tournament, traffic around Foro Italico increases, so take the metro. Performances after May 16 fall after the tournament has ended.

Other comedies

In the same days, at Teatro Olimpico, from May 7 to 15, Lillo e Greg are on stage, and at Teatro Sistina, from May 4, Vincenzo Salemme with E fuori nevica: 30 years ago Salemme wrote and directed Io e lui with Covatta.

Frequently asked questions about Il gufo e la gattina at Teatro Manzoni

When is Il gufo e la gattina on at Teatro Manzoni?

Il gufo e la gattina with Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino is on at Teatro Manzoni in Rome from May 6 to 23, 2027. The times of individual performances are on the theater's website or at the box office.

Who are the actors in Il gufo e la gattina in Rome?

At Teatro Manzoni Il gufo e la gattina is performed by Giobbe Covatta and Patrizia Pellegrino, and Covatta also directs. The play is by Bill Manhoff.

What is Il gufo e la gattina about?

Il gufo e la gattina is about a prostitute and a failed writer living in the same shady apartment building: forced to live together, amid shouting, arguments and vows of eternal hatred, they end up falling in love. The comedy gave rise to the 1970 film with Barbra Streisand and George Segal.

Where do you buy tickets for Teatro Manzoni?

Tickets for Il gufo e la gattina are sold on the official Teatro Manzoni website or at the box office at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, open Monday from 15:00 to 20:00, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, and Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 20:00.

How do you get to Teatro Manzoni in Rome?

Teatro Manzoni is at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, in the Della Vittoria district. The nearest stop is Lepanto, on Metro A, about 800 meters away: about 10 minutes on foot.

Is the show suitable for teens?

Il gufo e la gattina at Teatro Manzoni is a romantic comedy for adults, with a prostitute as its heroine and lively dialogue. In our opinion it's suitable from age 14, for those who love dialogue-driven comedy.

Who is Giobbe Covatta?

Giobbe Covatta is a comedian, writer and actor born in Taranto in 1956 and raised in Naples, made famous by the Maurizio Costanzo Show and the book Parola di Giobbe. At Teatro Manzoni he stars in and directs Il gufo e la gattina.

Final tip on Il gufo e la gattina at Teatro Manzoni

A two-hander made famous by Barbra Streisand, a comedian who has brought whales, human rights and global warming to the theater, an actress who has spanned 40 years of television and stage, and a neighborhood hall that bets on long runs: Il gufo e la gattina is the spring romantic comedy at Manzoni. My tip is to choose a performance in the second week, a central seat in the front rows, and to take the metro to Lepanto, leaving the Foro Italico traffic to the tennis fans.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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