An Evening with Sophia Loren.  That’s what it said on The Venetian’s website.  I had absolutely no idea what this entailed, but I absolutely knew that I had to be there.  Why?  Because when all is said and done (and with a few exceptions, here and there) Sophia Loren is all that remains from that glamorous era where the Jet Set and the Golden Age of Hollywood co-existed in elegant symbiosis. 

What I did know, is that (to quote Whoopi Goldberg) “There are stars, and there are Stars.”  Sophia Loren is most definitely a Star, with a capital-S.  So, I got on the horn, acquired a pair of tickets, and hoped for the best.  I was not disappointed.

Did you know that in 1981, Sophia Loren turned-down the role of Dynasty’s ‘Alexis Carrington’ (the part that became Joan Collins’ calling card)?  Or that a few years later, she was in negotiations to star as ‘Francesca Gioberti’ (the half-sister of Jane Wyman’s ‘Angela Channing’) in a 13-episode arc on Falcon Crest, but opted instead to spend more time with her family (this role went to Gina Lollobrigida).  How about that her younger sister, Maria (who, Loren tells, had a beautiful singing voice) went on to marry the son of Benito Mussolini?

Loren’s 1961 Oscar for Best Actress, for Two Women (in a field that included Audrey Hepburn for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Piper Laurie for The Hustler, Geraldine Page for Summer and Smoke, and Natalie Wood for Splendor in the Grass), made her the first person to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language role.

Before going to the Venetian, my pal Dawn Hume and I partook of a pre-theater dinner at Costa di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas (read all about our experience at the Forbes Travel Guide Four Star-winner, in a future article), and then walked down the Wynn Esplanade, over the sky-bridge, and through the Palazzo, to the Venetian Theater (which construed my cardio for the month).  There, we waved at Sheryl & Rob Goldstein and Lovee & Bob Arum, who were seated across the aisle from us (as you might imagine, our seats were pretty phenomenal).

So there we were, looking at the stage that was set with a rug, two overstuffed armchairs, and an accent table featuring a stunning arrangement of lilies, orchids, and peonies.  There was an enormous screen suspended from above, with posters from four of Loren’s films (Two Women; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; El Cid; and It Started in Naples) hanging two on each side. 

Cinephile Bill Harris (Entertainment Tonight, At the Movies, Hollywood Top Ten) – whom I’d met while cruising on the Crystal Harmony, roughly a decade ago – came on stage, and introduced Loren, prefacing his comments by telling us that she’d sustained a knee injury on her flight to Las Vegas, but (despite her doctor’s urging) she’d instated that the show (her eighth in an eleven-city tour) must go on.

Then Loren emerged from the wings, a vision in winter white boots and slacks, and a bejeweled ivory blouse (with a neckline that plunged low enough to cause many women thirty years younger than she to hesitate); accessorized with a diamond cross in the décolletage, a pearl-and-diamond choker at the neck, and pearl and diamond drops in each ear.  A pair of rose-tinted glasses were the proverbial cherry on top (unless you count the auburn tresses that cascaded past her shoulders).

With Harris steering the discussion, Loren regaled the audience with stories from her childhood, her entrée into film, and her work with such silver screen legends as Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Vittorio deSica, her husband Carlo Ponti, and her favorite co-star, Marcello Mastroianni; as well as experiences with the likes of Gina Lollobrigida, Anna Magnani, Silvano Mangano, and Jayne Mansfield.

Come back for Part 2, wherein I’ll be sharing my favorites of Loren’s anecdotes; and briefly discuss the meet-and-greet that followed, whence Dawn and I met the bella donna, herself.  Ciao!

An Evening with Sophia Loren
The Venetian Theater
Click HERE for info

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