Hawaii
Miladinovic set to
direct HOT’s openerWELL, dopple my ganger! UH volleyball fans may find themselves astonished to hear that Dejan Miladinovic will be conducting Hawaii Opera Theatre's opening work, "Eugene Onegin," not to be confused with Eugene, Oregon. On the other hand, perhaps you've already guessed that it's not the just-graduated, 6-foot-9 middle hitter for the volleyball team, but yet another Dejan Miladinovic. This one is director of opera at USC and has earned much acclaim directing productions for opera companies in Dallas, Seattle and New York City. The HOT people are hoping that their Dejan serves up an ace with this "coming of age" opera, which opens Jan. 31. For tickets, call the HOT-line at 596-7858 ...
THERE has been such a rash of burglaries and shopliftings in Waimea that a task force has been formed to combat the menace. (Anyone seen Winona Ryder on the Big Isle of late?) Patti Cook, owner of the gift and arts shop, Cook's Discoveries, had just conducted one of these shoplifting seminars and returned to her store. It was during the time she was in the store helping customers, she admits somewhat sheepishly, that someone made off with a shark's tooth weapon, 15-inches long and valued at $625. She has no clue who the light-fingered "customer" was. It's illustrative of how brazen Waimea baddies have become, however. Cook's Discoveries is located right across the street from the somewhat understaffed, it would seem, Waimea police station ...
Bright and sassy
ALTHOUGH he's officially "retired" from the Department of Education, Ron Bright just can't seem to get directing musicals out of his system, and nobody does it better. Ron is celebrating his 40th year of directing musical theater at Castle High, with the opening of "Music U.S.A.: From Blues to Broadway." And where better to stage this revue, featuring 60 students from fifth to eighth grade, than at Bright Theater in Kaneohe, which was named for the director ... Jazzman Abe Weinstein is putting together a 20-piece, eight-city big-band tour of China. "Here's one from Ben Hee, good man." ...COMING back to town for the first time in years is the man who used to pop up in TV commercials for United Airlines about every hour on the hour. He's Sam Linn, and now makes his home in Spokane, Wash. He's flying in to see his daughter, Kathleen, and his grandkids, and to celebrate his 75th birthday on Feb. 1 ...
Aloha and goodbye
AND back, ostensibly for good, is George Mullen, the red-headed lady bartender with a man's name, who's worked at numerous watering holes around town. Now widowed, she's selling her house outside San Diego and moving back here, where she plans to buy a house ... And a memorial service and scattering of ashes will be held for Larry Bowles, one of the great guys in the food and beverage industry. He came to Honolulu many years ago to cook for "Cas" Castagnola at his Manoa Marketplace eatery, and later became bartender and manager at Assaggio's ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
The Week That Was recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com