The Guide

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

Gallagher has some ideas he’d like to share. Really good ones, too, at least according to him.

But he’s having a hard time getting anyone to listen.

There’s the idea about the family reunion center — large rental homes that would be big enough to host dozens of relatives for a weekend gathering. He has a blueprint and a patent and everything. He just needs some backing to make it work. But Donald Trump canceled a meeting. Financial TV host Jim Cramer won’t return his calls. He’s trying to get in touch with Brad Pitt because he heard he works with Habitat for Humanity.

By GAIL WESTERFIELD
Special to the Guide

Live theater is about to get a little, um, livelier for audiences next weekend with the staged readings of three new plays at the South Carolina Repertory Company’s first-ever Hilton Head Island New Play Festival.

The playwrights will invite feedback about their work, allowing audiences the opportunity to hear brand-new plays, then participate in the shaping of them.

By TIM ADAM DONNELLY
Special to the Guide

The idea to get up and swing is something new for the May River Theatre Company and its regular troupe of dancers. But the idea came from an old videotape that director Jodie Dupuis watched one day.

The tape showed the history of the jive culture and dance styles that began in Harlem and spread across the country, evolving into popular moves like the jitterbug.

The one and only, original Gallagher will perform at 9 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Hilton Head Comedy Club.

The comedian, known as a keen observer of human nature and the American scene, will lay down his Sledge-O-Matic for “Gallagher: UNARMED.”

Recording artist David Ray will appear from 9 to midnight tonight in a free concert at CocoNutz, Hilton Head Island Beach and Tennis Resort, 40 Folly Field Road.

Ray has opened for Kenny Chesney and Travis Tritt and is listed as one of Nashville’s best new recording artists. He plays neo-country, acoustic and rock.

By GAIL WESTERFIELD • Special to the Guide

Bjorn Again is not really a tribute band, nor is it a cover band — actually, it’s not a “band” at all.

Billing itself as “a satirical parody of ABBA,” the group was founded in 1988 in Melbourne, Australia, and achieved cult status in its own right — counting Nirvana, Tom Jones and ABBA members themselves among its fans. And now the group is looking to add a few Lowcountry residents to its list of admirers.

The Hilton Head Dance Theatre will present “A Summer Gala” on Aug. 6 and 7 at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina on Hilton Head Island. The show promises to be an eclectic celebration of dance, featuring professional dancers alongside local company members of the dance theater.

Iconic pieces — such as Fosse favorites “Hot Honey Rag” and “Steam Heat” — will be mixed in with a few surprises that will explore various genres and styles, including a piece inspired by the popular show, “Glee,” which will be staged by Jamal Edwards.

The show will open with dance theater artistic director Karena Brock-Carlyle’s playful homage to Louis Moreau Gottschalk, “Gotcha Gottschalk,” and conclude with Kathleen Watkins’ staging of the Fosse masterpiece “Sing, Sing, Sing,” set to Benny Goodman’s music.

TODAY
Art and Craft Market
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Waterfront Park promenade

Bed Race
5 p.m., Bay Street, starting at Harrington Street and ending at Newcastle Street; entry fee is $25 per bed

River Dance

By TIM ADAM DONNELLY • Special to the Guide

Rising country star Jake Owen has landed five consecutive top 15 singles, opened for country superstars such as Carrie Underwood, Brooks and Dunn and Alan Jackson, and launched his own headlining tour, all by the age of 28.
And to think: He should be playing golf right now.

Owen, who is headlining the Beaufort Water Festival on Saturday, was an aspiring golf star at Florida State University who had dreams of playing alongside Tiger Woods on the pro circuit until a bad waterskiing accident derailed his career.

But, as is so often the case in country music, out of calamity came clarity.

“While I was (recovering), I had to do something to fill my time,” Owen said.

By JASON CRANE • Special to the Guide

The word “Latin” is used to describe so many different kinds of music from so many different countries that it’s in danger of losing its meaning, much as is often the case with what’s called “world music.” So when you’re heading out this weekend to see Pachanga perform at The Jazz Corner, it might help to know a few things about the origins of the band.

Pachanga is a three-piece band led by drummer and vocalist Juan Buzo and featuring percussionist/vocalist Fuzzy Davis and pianist/vocalist Jesus Hernandez. For this weekend’s gigs, the band will expand to include bassist Delbert Felix and pianist Lavon Stevens.