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. - - *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." ❑