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Features

FEATURES

Play gives sincere portrayal of 1930s migrant workers

Lindsay Frederickson
October 29, 2002

Lansing - With a backdrop of neutral tans and a single tilting windmill silhouetted against an opaque sky, “The Grapes of Wrath” chronicles a family’s arduous trek to California to escape the desolation of the 1930s Dust Bowl. Precious few rays of sunlight make their way into this bleak tale of a Depression-era American family’s forcible removal from their land and subsequent destruction.

FEATURES

Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4 excels

Ben Landes
October 29, 2002

Not only does Tony Hawk rule the skate world, but he’s revolutionized the video game explosion by creating the definitive genre of extreme sports that is endlessly imitated but never equaled. Surfing, BMXing, inline skating and more have all tried to replicate the tried-and-true formula of Hawk’s magic, but always fall short of reproducing the addictive fun and fluid game mechanics of the original. Now in its fourth incarnation, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4” has totally revamped its career mode.

FEATURES

Fans skank to Mustard Plug at Temple

Ben Landes
October 28, 2002

Lansing - Mustard Plug’s bassist Matt Van threw his bass to the ground in rage Friday night, then picked it up again to hurl it into the crowd.Well, he was going to, but Van restrained himself.

FEATURES

Oktoberfest deemed a success despite low turnout

Emily Buckler
October 28, 2002

Shaun Murray, Phi Delta Theta social chairman, almost lost his girlfriend over this.Murray spent the last two months preparing for Friday’s Oktoberfest 2002, an outdoor concert at the rock on Farm Lane to benefit the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Foundation, an organization that fights Lou Gehrig’s Disease.“It’s been so stressful,” the public administration and public policy sophomore said.

FEATURES

Shipmates, ElimiDATE offer tasteless, shallow look at dating

I’m pretty sure Chris Hardwick hates his job. Hardwick, the former co-host of MTV’s “Singled Out” with Jenny McCarthy, is back on the television dating scene with Sony Pictures Television’s effervescent reality show, “Shipmates.” The program follows two often disillusioned contestants around a cruise ship while they painfully size each other up and decide if their unworthiness to each other will preclude the eventual dance-floor hookup. Hardwick, in a continuous state of apparent physical and emotional pain, will sigh and roll his eyes as he gives the post date wrap-up, where nail-biting viewers find out if the curious daters have confessed their liking for each other or bitterly left the cruise ship alone. But his wearied attitude and sarcasm regarding the contestants and their important mission is almost vital to the show - it reminds the television audience that despite the overflow of shows like “Shipmates” and its familiar counterparts “Blind Date,” “elimiDATE,” “Dismissed” and “The 5th Wheel,” our culture might not readily embrace the ideals present in every skin-tight episode.

FEATURES

Best bets

Mustard Plug skanks its way to Temple Club The energized performances of ska-punk bands are always undeniably entertaining.

FEATURES

Weekend guide

Friday • The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, presents Live Jazz Happy Hour with the Jazz Dogs from 5-9 p.m.

FEATURES

Critic hopes reviews will send U to local theaters

In what might at first glance appear to be a weak attempt to justify my existence, I endeavor this week to define what a review is good for, if they’re any good at all. The question I sought to answer was, do reviews matter to people?

FEATURES

Crowd control

Sitting at a brown rectangular table in a confined conference room in Breslin Center on Sunday, Matt Laskowski enjoys what’s left of a limited smorgasbord of nachos, fried rice and taco salad. And after only about three minutes, his radio crackles and his facial expression turns from content to somewhat annoyed, but not surprised. “I’ve never once worked an event that, as soon as I sit down to eat, I don’t get called,” he says.

FEATURES

U alumni open enhanced Novi theater

Casey Mcnenly
October 23, 2002

Novi - A new business sprouting up in the jungle of commerce that is the Detroit suburb would normally be just another business. But MSU alumni Ruth Daniels and Carl Slemer hope a theater that offers amenities others don’t will make their Emagine theater stick out. The 86,000-square foot anchor of the Fountain Walk retail complex opens Monday to movie patrons who will see films in comfort.

FEATURES

Tesitmony offers Southern soul, vocals

Ben Landes
October 23, 2002

Dana Glover has a sultry voice that emanates with Southern charm as her long, brown, wavy hair gently caresses her beautiful features. But this is about her music so we’ll focus on that, regardless of the fact that Glover has been a model since the young age of 16.

FEATURES

Whats happening?

Events • Accapalooza will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Auditorium’s Fairchild Theatre.