Joe Dempsey Archives - Chicago Reader

In the foreground is a man at the piano. Two women stand on either side of another man standing behind the pianist. In the background, we see a Christmas tree and another man and woman looking on.

American Blues plants a whole holiday garden

by Dan Jakes November 30, 2022November 30, 2022

Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic film is packed frame-by-frame with small moments of storytelling perfection, and as I get older, there’s one that just guts me like a fish. Exhausted, panicked, and facing certain financial and reputational ruin, George Bailey tries in vain to cajole Zuzu, his littlest one, to bedtime. “I’m not sleepy,” she […]

Theater Review

Bedford Falls is live in Chicago

by Kerry Reid December 8, 2021December 8, 2021

Who needs four ghosts to remind you of the meaning of life when one angel (second class) can do the job? Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life by now is right up there with A Christmas Carol as a holiday classic delivering lessons about the importance of love over money. (Well, a Sam Wainwright waiting […]