Rush is on for
Russian daysTHE Russians are coming: Did you hear about the movie dedicated to the Soviet space station that worked at first, then went bad? It was called "The Mir has Two Phases." (Sorry about that.) But the local Russian community is going all out to promote "Days of Russia in Honolulu." The group's Natasha Owen called piano instructor Ernie Chang about having a concert of Russian piano music. Being a devotee of the Russian school in both training and taste, Chang jumped at the opportunity. And so at Sunday afternoon's concert, you can hear works by Kabalevsky, Khachaturian, Tschaikovsky, Prokofieff, Scriabin and Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C# Minor." And the perfect feature for the Academy of Arts Theatre presentation will be Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Proceeds will go to a Russian orphanage to help purchase a much-needed snowmobile ...
SPEAKING of Russian pictures, Alfred's owner Alfred Vollenweider may be Swiss, but he's introducing Yuri Popov, Consul General of the Russian Federation, tonight at the opening of "Russian and Soviet Fine Art in Retrospective" at his Century Center restaurant. And just for tonight's reception, Alfred will be serving champagne and zakuski. The paintings will be on view (and available for purchase) at the restaurant through July 2. And at Cascada Restaurant in the Royal Garden Hotel in Waikiki, Chef Nick Sayada is featuring Russian cuisine through Monday ...
Islands apart
LEAVE it to Emme Tomimbang to scour Manhattan for people who've moved from "Island to Island," the name of her next "Emme's Island Moments" show, airing Monday at 9 p.m. on KHON-TV. She tracks down the likes of actor Randall Duk Kim, appearing in "Golden Child," Dean Pitchford, who wrote the screenplay and music to the film, "Footloose," and is bringing a version of it to Broadway this fall, and a Hawaii cast appearing in "Aloha Las Vegas." She also chats with Carnegie Hall G.M. Kimo Gerald, and Raymond Bickson, the localite who's G.M. of the Mark Hotel. She even found a restaurant in Chelsea run by a localite, Ed Okubo, and some Hawaii chefs in Manhattan for an awards banquet at the James Beard House. And if that's not enough, Emme chats with actress Elizabeth Lindsey (making a film called "The Corruptor" there) and local boy Chris Lee, president of production of Columbia Tristar Pictures, overseeing the huge "Godzilla" opening. The question should be is there anyone from Hawaii now in New York Emme didn't locate ...AND just when we thought we'd seen the last of remarkably talented 17-year-old actress/singer Kathleen Stuart in Castle's "The King and I," she agreed to slip in one more musical locally before heading off to further theater studies in London. She'll be appearing in Manoa Valley Theatre's "The World Goes Round," opening July 15 ...
Perfection -- at a price
SO you're still looking for that unparalleled gift for dad on Father's Day. How about Perfection itself. Perfection is that rarest of rare cognacs dating back to 1863 -- before Abraham Lincoln was killed -- and the Halekulani is the only place in town you can get a shot. The international release was only 1,200 bottles. Perfection doesn't come cheap, as you might expect. It's $175 for three quarters of an ounce and $325 for an ounce and a half. Each person to savor this unique experience will get a certificate attesting to it verified by hotel G.M. Patricia Tam ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.