The Guide

By JEFF VRABEL • 843-706-8140

Let’s be honest with each other, Lowcountry people: A major reason that we expatriated ourselves here in the swamps — in addition to retirement, golf and/or the realization of our dream of opening a makeshift bar in a storage facility — is so that we could spend no small amount of time gloating at all of the slushy saps who have elected to live in the North, on purpose, despite considerable scientific evidence pointing to the fact that winter has been known to occur nearly every year.

Over the years and in my two separate stays here in the Lowcountry, I have done this a lot. I did it last week. I’ve done it enough so that I have been occasionally disinvited from important family gatherings. Now and again I’ll load up the weather forecast for Chicago, gasp in farcically overwrought Glenn Beck-ian horror at the shockingly low figure before me, do a genre shuffle for “Reggae” on the iPod and sit back and drink my morning margarita.

Faith Hill catapulted Angie Aparo’s work to the country music forefront with her hit cover of his ballad “Cry,” but now Hill’s husband, Tim McGraw, has brought a song by the Hilton Head Island favorite to a CD that also features Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. McGraw recorded Aparo’s 2000 track “Free Man” for a recently released compilation inspired by the HBO documentary “By The People: The Election of Barack Obama.” All proceeds from the digital-only album benefit United Way’s Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts.

Question. How did “Free Man” become a part of this soundtrack?
Answer. The track is from my record “The American,” which Faith had pulled “Cry” from. I knew Tim through her. It’s an older song that I wrote about freedom — just how fragile it is and what a gift it is. I find when you’re writing that you sort of absorb the music that you’re listening to during the creative process. At the time, I was listening to a lot of Neil Diamond, those early ’70s records with grand choruses. The track has sort of just been sitting there for a few years, and I got this call from Tim’s people saying “He wants to use ‘Free Man’ for this soundtrack. How do you feel about that?” and I was like “Yes, please!”

The South Carolina Repertory Company has made a deal with the devil.

On Thursday, the troupe will debut its production of “The Seafarer,” a dark comedy about a poker game thrown into chaos by the presence of Lucifer himself. The play, written by Conor McPherson and set in a suburban basement near Dublin, concerns a group of old drinking buddies who find the stakes of their game raised when one of them looks like he might be playing for his soul.

“What could be more fun than a bunch of Irish drunks playing cards on Christmas Eve? Throw in the devil, and you’ve got quite a mix,” said director Tom Evans, who first saw the play in New York a few years ago and bought a copy as soon as it was published. “There’s something innately interesting about the way the Irish live their lives. ... My goal is for this to not even look like it’s been directed.”

If you think talking to your child about the birds and the bees is awkward, try doing it in pantomime.

That’s one of several stage challenges that has Amos Hummell playfully swearing that his role as the impishly named King Sextimus the Silent in the Main Street Youth Theatre’s production of “Once Upon a Mattress” will be his last. The play is a musical comedy adapation of the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.”

“When I tried out for ‘Willy Wonka,’ I didn’t realize I’d be singing all the time for two acts,” Hummell said. “So when they told me the king is a mute in this play, I thought, ‘He doesn’t sing? I can do that!’ Who knew learning how to talk with my hands would be so difficult?”

Director Jodi Layman said Hummell’s antics as the silent royal sleaze are just some of the reasons to look forward to the theater’s version of the Hans Christian Andersen legend.

Touring comedian Dwight Slade performs this weekend as the Hilton Head Comedy Club launches its 2010 season. The Seattle-based Slade is regarded by peers as a “comic’s comic” whose sharp observational material has led to headline gigs around the world, as well as featured appearances on Comedy Central and HBO. Over his two-decade career, Slade has shared stages with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and performed for troops in Afghanistan.

The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra will present it annual Youth Concerto Competition at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 50 Pope Ave., Hilton Head Island. Nine finalists, who were selected by competitive audition from a field of 34, will appear in the live finals. The finalists will perform on violin, cello, oboe, flute and trumpet. Works to be performed include concerto movements written by Haydn, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Vieuxtemps and other classical composers. The finals are free and open to the public.

Details: 843-842-2055; http://www.hhso.org

Reggie Deas, longtime fixture on the local music scene with Deas Guyz, takes the stage of the Jazz Corner this weekend for a tribute to R&B icon Luther Vandross, featuring a cast of local musicians. Shows begin at 8 p.m, music charge is $7.50 per person. The Jazz Corner is located in the Village at Wexford on Hilton Head Island.

Details: 843-842-8620, http://thejazzcorner.com

A Valentine's Day dog party
The Hilton Head Humane Association is holding a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at the courtyard in Pineland Station on Hilton Head Island. The entire family — including two-legged and four-legged members — is invited. The event will include a silent auction, a bake sale for dogs and people, Valentine’s photos with your pet, a cake walk, live entertainment and food and beverages. The fundraiser is sponsored by the Pineland Station Merchants Association.
Details: Humane Association, 843-681-8686; Merchants Association, 843-342-6900

THIS WEEK
• Dane Cook: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville, Fla. $31-$101. 904-353-3309. www.ticketmaster.com
• John Mayer, Michael Franti and Spearhead: 8 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville, Fla. $35-$65. 904-353-3309. www.ticketmaster.com
• John Mayer, Michael Franti and Spearhead: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston. 843-529-5050. www.coliseumpac.com
• Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris, LMFAO: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd., Jacksonville, Fla. $38.50-$79.50. 904-353-3309. www.ticketmaster.com

Where does a hot Broadway property go after it ends its run on the Great White Way? London, Paris, Los Angeles … Hilton Head Island.

“Boeing-Boeing,” the comedy that made its Broadway debut in 2008 and ended in January 2009, opens this week at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.