MyrtleBeachOnline.com: Entertainment

New story line begins at Medieval Times

Wed, 21 May 2008 06:21 EDT

Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament has a new show that features new lighting, choreography, battle scenes and a soundtrack performed by the Czech Film Orchestra.

In the new show, the young, newlywed prince is ambushed while delivering a peace treaty. This time, thanks to wireless microphones, knights have speaking roles.

The show features about 35 actors and stunt performers. The theater seats more than 1,340. Medieval Times, off of U.S. 501 by Hard Rock Park, has operated in Myrtle Beach for 13 years and is one of nine across the nation.

Blue Crab Fest still growing

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:30 EDT

Originally a small waterfront festival designed to showcase the area's restaurants and accommodations, Little River's Blue Crab Festival has swelled to an event that may attract up to 50,000 attendees this year. Now in its 27th year, the festival offers seafood, entertainment, arts and crafts, children's activities and a chance to get acquainted with the small-town charm of Little River.

This year's festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, and organizers anticipate another successful year.

Craig Hill, who serves as secretary of the festival's executive committee, said the festival continues to draw more vendors and visitors each year.

Kiss guitarist more than just a rock star

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:32 EDT

Art has always captured rock guitarist Ace Frehley's eye.

After joining KISS in the mid-1970s at its lead guitarist, with the "Spaceman" makeup and silver sprayed hair, Frehley designed the group's logo.

"There was a point in my life when I wanted to become a graphic artist," he said last month in a phone chat from Westchester County, N.Y. "But the music kind of took over."

British singer kicks off tour

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:35 EDT

British pop starlet Natasha Bedingfield is embarking on her biggest U.S. tour yet. And she's simply beaming about it.

"My band is almost completely ready and I'm so excited," Bedingfield said during a phone interview from New York last week, during her final week of rehearsals before hitting the road. "Yesterday it really hit me that I'm going on tour. This is my first big U.S. tour with a full band and two big buses. It's going to be fantastic."

The 20-city Verizon Wireless-sponsored tour kicks off at the House of Blues, North Myrtle Beach on Wednesday. Guest performers include The Veronicas and Kate Voegele.

BARHOP

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:17 EDT

The scene | Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, 3060 Howard Ave., Myrtle Beach. 839-0249

The vibe |

This new kid on the block still has its shine. The dark wood and leather interior is pretty hip, while the tan wicker chairs outside are super comfortable. If you're basking out on the patio, it's hard to believe you're still in Myrtle Beach.

Culture guide

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:34 EDT

MUSEUMS

BROOKGREEN GARDENS, U.S. 17, between Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, is a National Historic Landmark with a collection of outdoor sculptures by American artists, and an accredited zoo. Two sculpture exhibitions titled "Good Things Come in Small Packages: Metallic and Relief Sculpture" and "The Bronze Zoo: Anna Hyatt Huntington and Exotic Animals," are on display in the Rainey Sculpture Pavilion through June 15. Free with garden admission. Open 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Seven-day gate admission for ages 13-64, $12; ages 65 and older $10; ages 6-12, $5; and 5 and younger, free. 235-6000, 800-849-1931 or visit www.brookgreen.org.

THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 2501 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, introduces the arts and sciences to children of all ages. Exhibits include Bubble Mania, S.C. Fossil Hunt, Circuit Center, the Magic School Bus, Kidz Medical Center, USS Kids Afloat and Discovery Lab. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday. $7 per person; 1 and younger, free. 946-9469 or visit www.cmsckids.org.

AFTER DARK-SATURDAY

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:12 EDT

2001 NIGHTCLUB-CLUB TOUCH, 449-9434 920 Lake Arrowhead Road, Myrtle Beach DJ E-Flow. Top 40. 8 p.m. $10. 2 clubs

2001 NIGHTCLUB-RAZZIE'S, 449-9434 920 Lake Arrowhead Road, Myrtle Beach Coco Loco. Beach. 8 p.m. $10. 2 clubs

APACHE PIER , 497-6486 9700 Kings Road, Myrtle Beach Little Soul. Blues. 8 p.m. No cover.

WHATELSE?

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:18 EDT

TODAY

Guitarist onstage

Atlanta-based group Lefty Williams Band will perform tonight at the Sandlot Grille in Murrells Inlet. The band plays a mixture of blues, rock and jazz, influenced Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughn and early Led Zeppelin.

'Prince Caspian' mostly a typical war movie

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:17 EDT

1/83/8

More swordplay. More epic battles. More furry talking creatures. Heck, there's even a brief return visit from The White Witch.

The only thing that's missing from "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," based on the second novel in C.S. Lewis' famed "Narnia" series and the sequel to 2005's blockbuster film "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," is a sense of magic and discovery - that feeling that we've embarked on a journey into another world. This plodding spectacle, which runs only one minute longer than the original film but somehow feels twice as long, turns out to be a strangely generic war movie pitting uninteresting good guys against one-dimensional bad guys. It's a chore to sit through and a bore to contemplate.

FEATUREDDISH

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:17 EDT

The scene | Empire Fire Mongolian Grill, 4036 U.S. 17 S., North Myrtle Beach 663-3808

The taste | Though it may look like a typical Asian restaurant, Empire Fire goes a step beyond traditional restaurant and hibachi fare. The place boasts a cool concept - a Mongolian bar featuring a variety of meats and vegetables that you pick out yourself and present to the chefs to cook for you. I heaped my bowls - one for meat and one for veggies - with beef, bean sprouts, snow peas, broccoli and green peppers. Other veggie options included baby corn, carrots, several types of cabbage, mushrooms, celery, scallions, water chestnuts and squash. Meats included beef, chicken, lamb, ham, pork, shrimp, scallops and imitation crab meat.

Then there are the sauce options. A mixture of sauces creates the place's signature sauce, but you can ask for more of one or another. I went heavy on the spicy chili sauce and was pleased with the result. The vegetables were perfect - the snow peas still had crunch and the broccoli was soft, but not mushy. Our server brought us small bowls of fried rice to enjoy with the entree, but the dish was good on its own. The best part was that I didn't have to pick out carrots and peas from my dish like I usually do when ordering Asian food.

AFTER DARK-FRIDAY

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:46 EDT

2001 NIGHTCLUB-CLUB TOUCH, 449-9434920 Lake Arrowhead Road, Myrtle Beach DJ E-Flow.

Top 40. 8 p.m.

$10. 2 clubs 2001

Get Out guide

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:31 EDT
FESTIVALS
BLUE CRAB FESTIVAL, in Little River, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. One-day tickets for ages 6 and older $3 advance, two-day tickets $5 advance; or $4 at the gate per day. Craig Woolard Band will play from noon-4 p.m. and Sea Cruz will play from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday; The Holiday Band will play from noon-4 p.m. and Coastline Band will play from 4-8 p.m on Sunday. Shuttle buses available from Lowes Foods, Jimmagans, Marine Max, Hope Willard and (Saturday only) Little River United Methodist Church. 385-3180 or www.bluecrabfestival.org.
SILVER COAST WINERY, 6680 Barbeque Road, Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., will have its Beach Music Blast 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, with headliners Greg Mosley Band, noon-3 p.m. Shamalama, featuring Mickie Hardy & Phil Berg, play from 3-5 p.m. Arts and crafts vendors will be present. $5 for ages 13 and older, free for ages 12 and younger. Also "Wacky Wednesday Dance Parties." 5-8 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays through November; $3 cover charge. 910-287-2800 or www.silvercoast winery.com.

Commerce meets art at Cannes fest

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:18 EDT
1/83/8
"The climate is so odd," Clint Eastwood once wrote about the world's most famous and influential film festival. He wasn't referring to the breezes coming off the Mediterranean. Rather, Eastwood was describing one hand of the Festival de Cannes, the commerce hand ("the whorehouse of selling," he called it), with the other hand, "the intense cinemania, of searching for the gem, the one that's going to knock everyone off their feet."
This year's festival started Wednesday and runs through May 25. Cannes means tuxedos and stilettos on the sand. It glows as a glutton's feast of international cinema, yet there's barely time for a sandwich. Cannes, which most French folk pronounce neither "Can" nor "Cahn" but somewhere in the middle, is where careers are made and eroded, depending on a film's reception or a face's bone structure and its ability to attract paparazzi. Thousands of films that will never win awards play the Marche (the marketplace), while hundreds more vie for attention, a distributor's interest and the embrace of an audience in various sidebar competitions.

ON DVD

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:34 EDT
AVAILABLE TUESDAY
"National Treasure: Book of Secrets"
"Strange Wilderness"

Theater reviews its 25 years

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:17 EDT
Maintaining a theater company - any artistic endeavor, for that matter - is an ongoing challenge that requires many dedicated people, many hours of hard work and the support of the community. For Brunswick Little Theatre, all of those elements have been around in spades for quite some time.
Back in 1983, Stuart Callari and friends Nancy Yount and Tricia Foy got together to have a glass of wine and the conversation turned to theater. "We discussed how badly the county needed some form of theater and it looked like It was going to be up to us to do it," Callari said.
The first show for BLT was "Brigadoon," with Callari directing and local musician Debbie Skillman putting together the music. "That set the whole thing in motion," said current BLT President Thom Clemmons. "From that single meeting and after 25 years of hard work and determination, we have a wonderful, thriving theater company."

Nightlife-Sunday through Thursday

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:32 EDT
SUNDAY
BROADWAY LOUIE'S, 445-6885. Broadway at the Beach, Myrtle Beach, Jake's All Star Karaoke, 9 p.m. Variety. No cover.
BUZZ'S ROOST, 545-1595, 717 Front St., Georgetown, The Bill Krauss Show. 3 p.m. Acoustic, Comedy. No cover.

Weekend picks

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:31 EDT
Broadway in town
Broadway Showstoppers, a performance featuring the Carolina Forest High School show choirs, will take place tonight. The show includes songs from "Hairspray," "Rent," "Legally Blonde," "Aida," "Grease" and others featuring the high school's women's, freshmen and showcase show choirs.
When | 7 p.m. tonight

'Great Debaters' leads releases

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:18 EDT
1/83/8
'The Great Debaters'
One and two discs, Genius Products/The Weinstein Co., $29.95/$32.95, rated PG-13

SEEKING THE SOUND

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:18 EDT

Get your band seen and heard at Kicks! online
Calling all local bands! We know you're out there and you want to be seen and heard. We at Kicks! are looking for photos of your bands rocking on stage and chilling with your fans to put in Kicks! on MyrtleBeachOnline.com. We also want to hear what you sound like, so send your band photos and MP3 files of your best tunes to kicks@thesunnews.com, or burn your sound onto a CD and bring it to our office on Frontage Road East in Myrtle Beach. Snail mail submissions are also acceptable. Send them to Kicks! 914 Frontage Road E., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Blue Crab Festival boasts bands

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:22 EDT
Saturday will kick off the annual Blue Crab Festival in Little River. The festival continues through Sunday with food, fun and more. Several bands with a beach music sound are slated to perform at the festival. Saturday: Noon-4 p.m., Craig Woolard Band 4-8 p.m., Sea Cruz Sunday Noon-4 p.m., The Holiday Band 4-8 p.m., Coastline Band
Gabbie Rae will also perform on Sunday.