Castellammare, the Oplontis Company enchants the audience at the Supercinema Theater.

Castellammare di Stabia – The three-day pre-Christmas event, organized by the Oplontis company of Torre Annunziata at the Teatro Supercinema, concluded successfully for the Castellammare public.

This year's protagonist was the famous comedy "Arezzo 29... in three minutes" by the brothers Gaetano and Olimpia Di Maio, heirs to a historic theatrical dynasty.
A work made famous by two giants of Neapolitan theater, Luisa Conte and Nino Taranto, which the actors of the Oplontis company – led by director Leopoldo Speranza – have masterfully reinterpreted.

With professionalism and stage presence, the cast enhanced the expressive power of the characters, mastering a scene rich in comic situations and human traits of everyday life, in a powerful mix of brilliant humor and authentic theatricality.

The opera's plot unfolded in a crescendo of misunderstandings and misinterpretations involving relatives, friends, and neighbors of Salvatore, a taxi driver, and his wife Vincenza, a notorious neighborhood loan shark. Through lies, half-truths, and clumsy attempts to conceal an alleged betrayal, Salvatore dragged everyone into a series of mistaken identities and twists typical of Neapolitan farce, culminating—with irony, lightheartedness, and moments of genuine emotion—in an unexpected and captivating finale.

Brilliant, solid, and well-matched actors effectively captured the comedy's intrigue and psychological dynamics. Bringing the characters to life were: Leopoldo Speranza, director and performer of the taxi driver Salvatore; Stefania Lamberti (Vincenza); Francesca De Pascale (Gervasia); Roberto Nolano (Antonio); Federica Caligiuri (Retella); Mimmo Anastasio (Gennaro La Pasta); Loretana Manna (Matalena); Maria Rosaria Pellino (Gisella); Mario Scarpa (Ferdinando Pugliese); Enzo Rago (Don Luberto); Peppe Forcella (Nicola); Gianmario Savastano (Nunuzzo).

Director Leopoldo Speranza enhanced the show with a direction that blended tradition with vibrant modernity. The performance was fluid and engaging from start to finish, once again confirming the artistic value of the company, which this year celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.

The cast celebrated this exciting milestone on the final evening by presenting Speranza—the group's artistic beacon—with a commemorative plaque, in recognition of his undeniable professionalism and experience. The extraordinary and dynamic Stefania Lamberti—a masterful interpreter of the courageous and determined Vincenza—also paid tribute to him, recalling the beginning of her career alongside him and their thirty years on stage together.

The performers' naturalness, their mimicry, the precise pacing of the stage, and their attention to detail characterized a performance with an unpredictable sense of comedy, capable of combining fun with profound content, tinged with subtle drama: usury, denied motherhood, and the child trade. These powerful, thought-provoking themes were presented with a skillful lightness.

An engaged and visibly entertained audience demonstrated genuine engagement, punctuating key moments with laughter, comments, and spontaneous applause, but also with intense silences when the atmosphere on stage stirred emotions and touched the audience's deepest chords. The warmth that permeated the theater created an immediate bond between actors and spectators, evidenced by the high level of attention maintained throughout the performance.

As with every theatrical initiative undertaken throughout its history, the Oplontis Company, combining passion with a well-established spirit of solidarity, has chosen to donate part of the show's proceeds to a charitable cause, identifying cancer research as this year's destination.

The event's charitable vocation had already emerged on the first of three evenings, December 19th, thanks to the participation of sponsor Iurillo Group—an insurance broker and local consulting hub—whose founder and CEO, Dr. Vincenzo Iurillo, offered the audience a direct and community-based look at the "Artigiani di Preziosità" project.

The initiative, created in collaboration with Don Luigi Milano, parish priest of the Maria Santissima del Carmine Parish in Castellammare, was illustrated by the priest himself, who took the stage to describe its evolution, how it was carried out, and its purpose: to promote manual and workshop activities by volunteer artisans, in the creation of artefacts intended to support people in difficulty and contribute to the parish's welfare works, in particular the solidarity kitchen.

At the end of the brief but intense theatrical season that took place from December 19th to 21st, the outcome can only be considered positive for a company that, with admirable commitment, continues to dedicate itself to art and the values ​​that inspire it, renewing tradition and creativity.

The warm applause that regularly accompanies it, along with the audience's sincere and shared appreciation, fuels the group's enthusiasm and supports their presence next year. All that remains is to look forward to the new show, confident that it will once again provide moments of genuine enjoyment.