Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni with Francesca Reggiani, April 8 to 25, 2027

Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni: Gianni Clementi's comedy Sugo finto (Fake Sauce), starring Francesca Reggiani and directed by Luca Manfredi, is on at Teatro Manzoni, Via Monte Zebio 14/C, 00195 Rome, from April 8 to 25, 2027. The theater is in the Della Vittoria district, about 800 meters on foot from the Lepanto stop on Metro A. The schedule of individual performances and the section prices are published by Teatro Manzoni on its official website, where you buy tickets from the show page, and they're also sold 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. The box office answers at 06 3223634 and on WhatsApp at 327 8959298.

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

Two spinster sisters, one house, a lifetime of bickering. Then a twist that reverses the balance of power, and a reckoning played out in silence. Sugo finto is a bitter comedy written by Gianni Clementi, entrusted to one of Italian TV's best-loved comedians and directed by Nino Manfredi's son. In the Manzoni's spring program it's the play that mixes laughter and cruelty. The play is in Italian.

Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni: the dates at a glance

Sugo finto is on at Teatro Manzoni in Rome from Thursday, April 8 to Sunday, April 25, 2027, an 18-day run, with Francesca Reggiani in the lead.

Dates

Opening night is Thursday, April 8, 2027, and the last performance is Sunday, April 25. It's the Manzoni's typical format, keeping companies on the bill for about three weeks: a long run that leaves room to pick the most convenient evening.

Times

The show page gives the run dates, and the schedule of individual performances, evening and matinee, is shown when you buy on the theater's website or by asking the box office. Check it before settling on a date.

Contacts

The Teatro Manzoni box office answers by phone at 06 3223634, on WhatsApp at 327 8959298 and at info@teatromanzoniroma.it. Opening hours are those given above, and the box office is closed in August.

Subscriptions

Sugo finto is part of the Manzoni's 2026/2027 drama season, and the show page links to the subscription types published by the theater: if you plan to come back several times, it's the first thing to look at.

Sugo finto: what the comedy is about

Sugo finto tells of Addolorata and Rosaria, two spinster sisters trapped in a life of constant bickering and mutual accusations, until a sudden event shifts the balance between them.

Two sisters

According to the Manzoni's presentation, the two sisters' life drags on, marked by quarrels and misunderstandings. It's the classic starting point of family comedy: two characters forced to live together, who know each other too well to stand each other.

The reversal

One day a stroke hits Addolorata and leaves her mute and paralyzed. Rosaria finds herself caring for her, but also, at last, settling scores: day after day she tells her how she's squandering the savings piled up in the bank over years of sacrifice and work. The sister who always took it becomes the one who talks, and the other can only listen.

The weapon of silence

But Addolorata isn't beaten yet. With the only means left to her she turns her own body into a silent weapon: she refuses food and water, pushing herself to the limit. And Rosaria realizes she has only one road left, what the presentation calls yet another surrender.

The title

The title, in our opinion, says a lot about the comedy: sugo finto is the Roman "fake sauce" made without meat, something that resembles the real thing without being it, a life that resembles a life, an affection that resembles affection, and underneath a bitter taste the laughter doesn't fully cover.

Francesca Reggiani: biography and career

Francesca Reggiani is a comedian, cabaret performer, impressionist and actress born in Rome on July 1, 1959, a graduate of Gigi Proietti's acting workshop who became popular with La TV delle ragazze and Avanzi.

The Proietti school

After high school she graduated from Gigi Proietti's Laboratorio di esercitazioni sceniche, the school that produced a generation of Roman actors. She made her TV debut with La TV delle ragazze, on Rai 3, in the late 1980s.

Avanzi and satire

Between 1991 and 1993 she was in the cast of Avanzi, the Rai 3 comedy show that left its mark on Italian TV satire, then Tunnel, also on Rai 3, and on Rai 2 several more comedy shows including Convenscion. Among her best-known characters are her impressions of Sabrina Ferilli, Sophia Loren, Alba Parietti and Antonella Clerici.

With Serena Dandini

Her partnership with Serena Dandini spans decades: after Avanzi, in the 2010/2011 season she joined her again on Parla con me on Rai 3, and in 2012 on The show must go off on La7. In 2018 she took part in the revival of La TV delle ragazze, the show she had started with.

Fellini's cinema

On film she has worked with Federico Fellini, in And the Ship Sails On and Intervista, with Mauro Bolognini, Carlo Vanzina, Alberto Sordi in Assolto per aver commesso il fatto and Sabina Guzzanti in Le ragioni dell'aragosta, among others. On TV she was in the cast of Caro maestro and Medicina generale.

Theater

On stage she wrote the 1992 monologue Non è Francesca and went on to write and direct other shows. In recent years she has staged, among others, a parody of 50 Shades with her own name in the title, a show on everything women don't say, Gatta morta and Questioni di prestigio. In 2006 she received the Delfino d'oro career award at the Festival Nazionale Adriatica Cabaret.

The director and the playwright: Luca Manfredi and Gianni Clementi

Sugo finto is directed by Luca Manfredi, a Roman director and screenwriter born on December 27, 1958, son of Nino Manfredi, and written by Gianni Clementi.

Luca Manfredi, from commercials to TV drama

After graduating from the Istituto Europeo di Design he worked as an assistant director and then as a commercials director, with about 100 spots in the 1980s and 1990s, including the series of ads for a famous coffee brand starring his father. He then created, wrote and directed the series Un commissario a Roma, from 1993, which won the Telegatto for best Italian series.

The biopics

His TV work includes Una pallottola nel cuore, L'ultimo papa re, inspired by Luigi Magni's film starring his father, and two biopics: In arte Nino, on the young Nino Manfredi played by Elio Germano, and Permette? Alberto Sordi, with Edoardo Pesce. In 2021, for the centenary of his father's birth, he made the documentary Uno, nessuno, cento Nino.

Theater

In 2023/2024 he adapted and directed Gente di facili costumi, a comedy by Nino Marino and Nino Manfredi, with Flavio Insinna and Giulia Fiume, also staged at Teatro Argentina in Rome. Sugo finto continues his work on Roman comedy for the stage.

Gianni Clementi

Gianni Clementi wrote the text. His plays include L'ebreo, staged in 2010 directed by Enrico Maria Lamanna with Ornella Muti and Pino Quartullo, confirming a writing that draws leading performers.

A curious fact about Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni, April 8 to 25, 2027

The best curious fact is a meeting repeated 20 years apart. In 2004 Francesca Reggiani acted in Questo amore, a TV miniseries directed by Luca Manfredi. In 2027 the two meet again in the theater, she as star, he as director, for a Roman comedy. A partnership born on TV that lands on stage.

The second curious fact concerns the Manzoni itself. A month before Sugo finto, from March 4 to 21, 2027, the same theater hosts L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti, directed by Enrico Maria Lamanna. Muti and Lamanna had worked together in 2010 on a play by Gianni Clementi, L'ebreo. So within two months, two pieces of that writer's history pass across Via Monte Zebio stage.

Third: Francesca Reggiani acted in two Federico Fellini films, And the Ship Sails On and Intervista. A Roman who worked with Fellini in the 1980s and today stages a comedy about the Rome of homes and families.

Francesca Reggiani on TV: 30 years of programs

Francesca Reggiani's TV career spans more than three decades, from La TV delle ragazze in 1988 to the same show's revival in 2018, by way of Rai 3, Rai 2, Canale 5, La7 and satellite channels.

The 1990s

After La TV delle ragazze came a string of comedy shows on Rai 3, Canale 5 and Rai 1, with Avanzi from 1991 to 1993 and Tunnel in 1994 as the high points. These were the years when her comedy, made of observation and impersonation, became familiar to a wide audience.

The 2000s

On Rai 2 came Convenscion, from 2000 to 2002, and a late-night show between 2002 and 2003, on Rai 3 further comedy programs, and on Italia 1 Visitors. In 2005 she competed on Ballando con le stelle, the Italian Dancing with the Stars, and from 2008 to 2014 she was in the cast of Bastardi on Comedy Central.

Parody and the original

In 2011 she worked alongside Alba Parietti on the show Alballoscuro, on LA7d: the same Parietti who, in the Avanzi days, was one of her impersonation targets. It's an episode that says a lot about the impressionist's craft, and about Reggiani's ability to turn parody into collaboration.

From TV to the stage

In recent years theater has taken up more and more of her work, with shows written with Valter Lupo and Gianluca Giugliarelli such as Gatta morta and Questioni di prestigio. Sugo finto is different: an auteur text, written by someone else, with an outside director, where the actress puts herself at the service of a character.

Teatro Manzoni, the hall on Via Monte Zebio

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

Origins

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

Many languages

The Manzoni hosts drama, dance, music, film series and talks. Alongside the drama season there are the Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee series directed by Alessandro Vaccari, Manzoni Danza and the family shows of Un teatro da favola.

Services

The City's tourism portal lists for the Manzoni a bar, coat check, accessible restrooms, accessibility and a dog-sitting service, rare among Roman theaters.

Something nobody tells you about Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni, April 8 to 25, 2027

What isn't said is that Sugo finto isn't the light comedy Francesca Reggiani's name might suggest. If you know her from her Avanzi impressions or her evenings with Serena Dandini, you'll find her comedy, but inside a cruel story: one sister paralyzed, the other taking revenge by squandering a lifetime's savings, a silent struggle that goes as far as refusing food. The laughter here has a bitter aftertaste. That's exactly the reason to go.

The second thing concerns the schedule. With an 18-day run the Manzoni offers many dates, but the times of individual performances need checking one by one on the website or at the box office, because the show page doesn't list them.

Third: the neighborhood. The Manzoni is outside the historic center, and evening parking in the Della Vittoria district is hard. Metro A to Lepanto and about 10 minutes on foot remain the most reliable option.

My tip for Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni, April 8 to 25, 2027

My tip is to go in the right frame of mind: a black comedy more than a farce. Francesca Reggiani is a highly skilled comic actress, and the text gives her the role of a woman who finally speaks up after a lifetime of quarrels. In our opinion it's in the pauses, more than the jokes, that you'll grasp the measure of the show.

The second tip concerns the date. With almost three weeks of performances there's time to choose: the second week, when the comedy has found its rhythm in front of an audience, is usually the best moment. If you like matinees, the April weekends are available.

Third: a central seat in the front rows. In a two-voice comedy, where one of the sisters stays mute for much of the story, facial expressions matter as much as words, and the Manzoni is an intimate hall. For seat selection, the box office is your reference.

How to get to Teatro Manzoni

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

By metro

From Lepanto head 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 run on the ATAC website.

By bus

The neighborhood is served by several surface lines: check evening lines and times on the ATAC journey planner on the day.

By car and taxi

Street parking is scarce in the evening: if you drive, allow extra time and watch out for residents-only zones. If you're with older people, a taxi to Via Monte Zebio entrance is the most comfortable option.

Another well-known fact, yet one rarely mentioned

It's well known that Francesca Reggiani was one of the voices of Avanzi, the Rai 3 show that changed TV satire in the early 1990s. Less often remembered is that her training is in theater, and Roman through and through: Gigi Proietti's acting workshop, even before television. And that her first work as a playwright, Non è Francesca, dates from 1992, right in the Avanzi years.

A second rarely mentioned fact concerns Luca Manfredi. Before directing TV dramas and comedies, he shot about 100 commercials, including a long series starring his father Nino. It's a school of rhythm and concision you can see in his directing: a few seconds to build a character and a punchline.

Finally, about the Manzoni: the choice to keep companies on the bill for about three weeks has, according to the artistic direction, let many shows build a lasting bond with the audience. For a comedy that lives on word of mouth, it's the ideal format.

The right photo to take at Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni, April 8 to 25, 2027

The right photo is taken in front of the Teatro Manzoni entrance, on Via Monte Zebio, with the show poster. It's a neighborhood theater, far from the monuments, and the image captures a residential Rome of early 20th century apartment buildings that visitors rarely see.

No photos or filming during the show: in a comedy built on silences and glances, a lit screen breaks the concentration of actors and audience alike. The right moment, if the staff allows it, is the final curtain call.

If you arrive early, the second photo is taken in Prati, along the walk from the metro: the tree-lined avenues and late 19th century facades, in the long light of April evenings, set you up for the comedy better than any postcard. If you have time in the afternoon, go as far as Castel Sant'Angelo for a shot over the Tiber before sunset.

The Della Vittoria district and surroundings

Teatro Manzoni is in the Della Vittoria district, north of Prati: a residential neighborhood, away from the main tourist routes, made of apartment buildings, schools and local shops.

Prati and Castel Sant'Angelo

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

Foro Italico and Ponte Milvio

Across the Tiber, to the north, are the Foro Italico and the Stadio Olimpico: on match nights traffic in the whole northern quarter changes completely, so check the sports calendar before choosing your date. Farther north is Milvian Bridge, with places open late.

A Rome for Romans

An evening at the Manzoni is also a way to experience Rome as its residents do. For a comedy about two sisters shut up in a Roman home, the setting of a residential neighborhood fits.

The riverside

If you arrive well ahead of a weekend matinee, you can pair the show with a walk in the northern parks or along the Tiber by the Foro Italico: in April the riverside is one of the area's most pleasant walks.

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 into a theater. The theater gives 1985 as its founding year, the City's tourism portal 1986 as its opening year: the sources differ by a year, but both speak of four decades of activity. The name of the management company, Cooperteatro 85, preserves the project's birth year.

The most recognizable trait of its history is the choice of long runs, with companies on the bill for about three weeks: a format that, according to the artistic direction, has helped many artists emerge and build a lasting bond with the audience. The second is the growth of its cultural programs: Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee, born from an idea of Carlo Alighiero and directed by Alessandro Vaccari, have become evenings of readings, music, images and debate.

In the 2026/2027 season the Manzoni opened in October with Gin Game with Pambieri and Villoresi, hosted Fiore di cactus with Jannuzzo and Boccoli in January and L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti in March. Sugo finto arrives in April, as the spring's bitter comedy.

Who has passed through Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni, April 8 to 25, 2027

For the Scrittori in scena series, the Teatro Manzoni stage has welcomed writers such as Antonio Scurati, Maurizio de Giovanni, Gianrico Carofiglio, Corrado Augias, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Melania Mazzucco, Stefano Massini and Fabio Volo, and the theater's list also includes Romano Prodi, Mario Monti and Nicola Gratteri. And Serena Dandini, Francesca Reggiani's partner on so many shows.

Francesca Reggiani's career includes Gigi Proietti, her teacher, Federico Fellini, Alberto Sordi, Carlo Vanzina, Christian De Sica, Sabina Guzzanti, Serena Dandini and Alba Parietti. Luca Manfredi's includes his father Nino, Elio Germano, Edoardo Pesce, Flavio Insinna, Massimo Ghini and Giulia Lazzarini.

From April 8 to 25, 2027, Francesca Reggiani, Luca Manfredi and Gianni Clementi's text come to Via Monte Zebio, with Addolorata and Rosaria: two sisters who for once tell each other everything, even when one of them can no longer answer.

Accessibility and practical information

The City of Rome's tourism portal lists Teatro Manzoni as accessible to people with disabilities, with dedicated restrooms. For the location of reserved seats, call the box office at 06 3223634 before buying.

With teens

Sugo finto is a comedy for adults, touching on illness, money and family grudges. No explicit content is announced, but the tone is bitter: in our opinion it suits teens aged 15 and up.

Arriving on time

The Manzoni foyer is small: arrive a quarter of an hour early, leave your jacket at the coat check and take your seat calmly.

Dog sitting

The City portal's list of services also includes dog sitting: if you don't want to leave your dog at home, ask the box office about conditions and availability before the evening.

Where to eat before or after the show

Between the Della Vittoria district and Prati you'll find trattorias, pizzerias and neighborhood bars, used more by residents than by tourists.

Before an evening performance

If you eat beforehand, choose a light, early dinner at one of the places along the walk from the metro. After a comedy called Sugo finto, though, it's hard to resist a trattoria.

After a matinee

Weekend matinees leave the evening free: an aperitivo in Prati on the way out and dinner at a trattoria round off the day well.

The Manzoni before and after Sugo finto

Sugo finto is one of the plays of Teatro Manzoni's 2026/2027 season, which alternates drama, cultural series, dance and family shows.

Before: drama

In March the Manzoni staged L'invisibile che c'è with Ornella Muti, a drama about grief. Sugo finto changes register: from melancholy to black comedy, still inside a home and a family.

Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee

Alongside drama, the Scrittori in scena and Manzoni Idee series bring writers, journalists and scholars to the stage for evenings with readings, music and images: the calendar is published on the theater's website.

Families

For younger audiences there's the Un teatro da favola series, curated by Pietro Clementi, with shows designed for children and their families.

April in Rome and the theater season

April is when the Roman theater season enters its final stretch, and long runs like the Manzoni's make it easy to fit an evening at the theater into a spring stay.

The weather

April evenings are mild, and the walk from Lepanto metro to Via Monte Zebio becomes pleasant. For matinees you go in with daylight and come out with the sun still up.

The last performance

The last performance of Sugo finto is Sunday, April 25. If you're planning a weekend in Rome around then, you can end your visit with the comedy, checking the time on the theater's website.

Frequently asked questions about Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni

When is Sugo finto on at Teatro Manzoni?

Sugo finto is on at Teatro Manzoni in Rome, Via Monte Zebio 14/C, from Thursday, April 8 to Sunday, April 25, 2027. The schedule of individual performances is on the theater's official website or available from the box office, at 06 3223634.

Who is in Sugo finto?

The lead in Sugo finto is Francesca Reggiani, the Roman comic actress and impressionist known for La TV delle ragazze and Avanzi. The text is by Gianni Clementi and the direction by Luca Manfredi, and the rest of the cast isn't listed on the show page.

What is Sugo finto about?

Sugo finto tells of Addolorata and Rosaria, two spinster sisters who live amid constant quarrels. When a stroke leaves Addolorata mute and paralyzed, Rosaria cares for her and takes revenge by squandering the family savings, but her sister fights back by refusing food and water.

How much are tickets for Sugo finto?

Ticket prices for Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni are published on the theater's official website, on the show page, where you can buy online. They're also sold at the box office at Via Monte Zebio 14/C, open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00.

How do you get to Teatro Manzoni?

Teatro Manzoni is reached by Metro A to Lepanto and about 800 meters on foot, around 10 minutes, to Via Monte Zebio 14/C, in the Della Vittoria district. Evening parking in the area is scarce: a taxi is the most comfortable option if you'd rather not walk.

Who is director Luca Manfredi?

Luca Manfredi, the director of Sugo finto, is a Roman director and screenwriter born in 1958, son of Nino Manfredi. He created the series Un commissario a Roma and directed the TV biopics In arte Nino and Permette? Alberto Sordi, and on stage he directed Gente di facili costumi with Flavio Insinna.

Is Sugo finto a comedy or a drama?

Sugo finto is a comedy with a bitter core: Gianni Clementi's text uses the comedy of two sisters' bickering to tell of grudges, money and mutual dependence. With Francesca Reggiani in the lead the laughs are guaranteed, but the story takes cruel turns, up to one of them refusing food.

Is Teatro Manzoni accessible to people with disabilities?

Teatro Manzoni on Via Monte Zebio is listed on the City of Rome's tourism portal as accessible to people with disabilities, with dedicated restrooms. For the location of reserved seats, call the box office at 06 3223634 before buying your ticket.

Final tip on Sugo finto at Teatro Manzoni

A Roman comedy with a bitter core, a star TV has made familiar to three generations of viewers, a director who carries the name of one of the city's great actors and a neighborhood theater that keeps shows on the bill for almost three weeks: in our opinion Sugo finto is the right choice if you want a laugh that leaves something behind. My tip is to choose the second week of performances, sit in the front rows and take the metro to Lepanto, saving dinner for after the show.

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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