ENTERTAINMENT
A Rosh Hashanah
Gift forYou.
To celebrate the New Year holiday,
we're taking 85 off our 849
BounceBack rate this weekend
and extending it through
Tuesday. September 29.
We're also giving you the same 85 off
the BounceBack rate every weekend
from now till December 27. 1992!
$44
BIG ROOMS
SMALL PRICE
We welcome Kosher caterers
any time, too, so Hilton Ga .rden
Inn is always ideal for holiday
events and gatherings, plus wedding
receptions and bar mitzvah parties.
So come enjoy all we offer. Awi Happy
New Year from. Hilton Garden Inn!
][
y
Southfield
GARDEN INN
SOUTHFIELD HILTON GARDEN INN • 26000 AMERICAN DRIVE • SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48034•313 - 357 - 1100
For reservations or information. call 1 800 HILTONS. Ask about our corporate rates.
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*Offer valid September 2-1 (kith Saturday stay) through September 29 and every Thursday ( with Saturday stay), Friday, and Saturday until
12/27192. Rate subject to change. Limited arailabilit ■ • advance booking required. Rate does not include tax or gratuities and does not apply
to meetings. conventions, or other promotional offers.
ED JONNA
The Merchant of VINO
a‘a empi.
Caoweit BeAl Wate4 la
q04
Ciatameia aid q4iencts
Veitit cilealaft awe apimy
niev Zietela
TROY
689-0900
SOUTHFIELD
354-6505
4050 Rochester
Wattles/Rochester
BIRMINGHAM
433-3000
29525 N.W. Hwy.
Betw. 12 & 13 Mile
254 W. Maple
Wabeek Bldg.
And Our 2 New Locations... The Merchant of Vino Warehouse
ANN ARBOR
769-0900
ROYAL OAK
546-7770
7789 Plymouth Rd.
North Campus
126 N. Main St.
Near 11 Mile
N
Open For
Lunch & Dinner
Serving
AUTHENTIC
Thai Food
and
Cocktails
Send Someone
Special A Gift
52 Weeks a Year.
Bangkok)
Club
11:30 o.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. Thru Thurs. • 11:30 o.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. • 5 p.m to 11 p.m. Sot.
Send a gift
subscription to
OPEN SUNDAY 5 p.m. TO 10 p.m.
THE
29269 Southfield Road north of 12 Mile
In The Southfield Commons
569-1400
JEWISH NEWS
Actor Foregoes Acclaim
To Live In Israel
NAOMIE GROSSMAN
Special to The Jewish News
y
ou're crazy; just when
you make it to the top
you throw it all away
to start at the bottom." Misha
Nerudeski laughingly recalls
his mother's reaction to the
news that he had decided to
immigrate to Israel. He says,
"It reminded me of her at-
titude when I told her I was
going to be an actor. That was
right after I got my degree in
civil aviation."
The idea of this flamboyant
Russian with his wild hair,
unruly beard and large pier-
cing eyes working in civil
aviation sounds like slapstick
comedy. But jocularity and
the ability to spin an amusing
yarn aside, Mr. Nerudeski is
a deadly serious actor whose
hopes are all pinned on the
stage. He shares his passion
with his wife Galina, an ac-
tress. The couple have a
4-year-old son.
A year ago the Nerudeskis
were playing in Moscow and
feted for their ac-
complishments. As head of a
theater company, Mr.
Nerudeski received three of
the former Soviet Union's
most distinguished prizes for
his last production.
Nonetheless, and at the
height of their popularity,
they decided to leave while
they still could.
Many of the Nerudeskis'
friends and relatives
emigrated from the former
Soviet Union and moved to
the United States. But Mr.
Nerudeski firmly states that
he never considered im-
migrating to the United
States. With an elaborate
shrug of his shoulders, he
says, "Sure, there are pro-
bably more jobs in America
and there's probably more
money there. But there's more
to life than that." He con-
tinues, "After all we endured
in the Soviet Union I wouldn't
live in another galut.
Besides, no matter how hard
things are here, they were
harder for us there."
Misha Nerudeski was no
stranger to KGB agents, who
frequently questioned him.
He spent one night in jail
after voicing his opinions at a
community meeting and
courted local Ukrainian
disfavor by insisting on run-
ning a Russian theater. In the
very nationalistic Ukrainian
region, a Russian theater pro-
ved a sore spot. Looking as if
he relished the conflict, Mr.
Misha Nerudeski
Nerudeski innocently an-
nounces, "I'm a fighter."
He's a subtle and clever('
fighter, who learned the skill
of subterfuge in order to pro- „
duce provocative theater. He
explains, "We lived in a coun-
try where many things
weren't allowed. In the
theater we always asked
ourselves how we could say
what we wanted to say
without getting into trouble.
It is a Russian technique t(o_,
be able to say what you wanes
without anyone realizing it'L!
It is also a Russian tech'
nique to turn scavenging in-
to an art form. In a country
where you're lucky to still
find a loaf of bread after stan-
ding in line for two hours, it
requires unusual skills to prp,
duce a play. Misha Nerudeski
admits, "The conditions were
miserable. There were never
enough costumes, never
enough props. We used
anything we had and everi-
put ladders in three plays just
because we had them." He
adds, "Once we even rehears-
ed a play in the street because
we had nowhere else to go."
In Israel they want to take
their award-winning play,
Th.e Games of the Birdkeeper,
through the country to Soviei,
immigrant populations. Their
first performance is schedul-
ed for Jerusalem and is spon-
sored by a Soviet Jewish
cultural center run for and by,_
new immigrants. After carv-
ing a niche in the emigr;D
population they intend to
start producing Russian plays
in Hebrew. Mr. Nerudeski
says, "Nothing will be lost in
the translation. Culture is not
just a language, it is also
what is in us. Look at
Dostoevsky who is a very Rus-
sian writer. But people all
over the world read and
understand him." ❑