The Guide

By JUSTIN PAPROCKI
jpaprocki@islandpacket.com
843-706-8143

Jimmie “J.J.” Walker is most often associated with one word, spoken in three distinctive syllables: Dyn-o-mite!

For six years, a lanky young Walker played J.J. Evans in the mid-’70s hit show “Good Times,” his catchphrase propelling him into superstardom. But it wasn’t so much acting that drove his career in show business as it was his stand-up comedy, something he continues nearly 40 years after he first started.

By HILARY KRAUS
Special to the Guide

We laughed when a newly married man had no clue on the date of his mother-in-law’s birthday, when a bride didn’t know what toppings her husband liked on his ice cream sundae, and — most of all — when blushing couples were asked about “makin’ whoopee.”

By GAIL WESTERFIELD
Special to the Guide

‘Footloose” isn’t just about a small town that outlaws dancing and the teens who rebelled against it.

“It’s a really relatable story of acceptance, fear and survival,” said Ben Wolfe, who is directing the musical version of the popular 1984 movie in Hilton Head Preparatory School’s latest production.

FEB. 18
• Comedian Kristen Key: 8 p.m., Hilton Head Comedy Club, 430 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island. $12. 843-681-7757. www.hiltonhead
comedyclub.com
• Jazz, blues and Latin world beats with The Noel Friedline Quintet: 8-11 p.m., The Jazz Corner, Village at Wexford, Hilton Head Island. 843-842-8620. www.thejazzcorner.com
• ’90s and current rock with Neil and Bob: 8:30 p.m., 9 Promenade, 9 Promenade St., Bluffton. 843-706-9994. www.9promenade.com

FEB. 19

By JUSTIN PAPROCKI
jpaprocki@islandpacket.com
843-706-8143

After two marriages and several other relationships, Celeste Friedman decided to stay single. Not only that, she decided she was going to celebrate it.
The former Hilton Head Islander recently self-published, “Single 101: 101 Reasons to Celebrate Being Single.”

Special to the Guide

This year, the Beaufort International Film Festival is living up to its name — both the “Beaufort” and the “International” parts.

The film showcase returns for its fifth year, Wednesday-Feb. 20. And, like in previous years, the feature films include entrants from around the globe. But new this year is the first feature from a Beaufort filmmaker, Michael Givens’ “Angel Camouflaged.”

By HILARY KRAUS
Special to the Guide

The May River Theatre is taking a page out of summertime in Bluffton and putting it onstage.

By GAIL WESTERFIELD
Special to the Guide

The most ancient form of theater is plain, old storytelling, according to Arts Council executive director J.W. Rone. And this month, the stage at ARTworks will be graced with three storytellers — actors portraying Harriet Tubman, Ben Franklin and Frederick Douglass.

ARTworks’ black box theater was expanded last fall, and, in addition to its regular season, Rone established a “second season” to run in the downtime between main stage shows. The goal was “to establish a theater-going tradition in Beaufort,” he said.

By JUSTIN PAPROCKI
jpaprocki@islandpacket.com
843-706-8143

For most of his career, Craig Bickhardt expressed himself through song — although it was someone else doing the singing.

The songwriter had four No. 1 hits on the country charts and nine Top 10 hits. Ray Charles, B.B. King, Martina
McBride, Art Garfunkel, Trisha Yearwood, Diane Schuur and many others recorded his work. He wrote about 800 songs during his 24 years in Nashville. So, in a way, his voice has been heard a lot, even if few knew those words were his.

But now he’s left Nashville. The writing he does is for himself. He is the singer and the songwriter.

By GAIL WESTERFIELD
Special to the Guide

Astronaut Alan Shepard hails from Ohio, where the play “Golf with Alan Shepard,” by Carter W. Lewis, is set.

According to Tom Evans — who is directing the play that opens Thursday at South Carolina Repertory Company on Hilton Head Island — Shepard is one of the better-known astronauts.