The Ref

CHICAGO – Leave it to acerbic comedian Denis Leary to cut through our times with a new book, “Why We Don’t Suck,” which is subtitled “And How All of Us Need to Stop Being Such Partisan Little Bitches.” Whether he is the man to stop it all remains to be seen, but he was in Chicagoland in early November to promote the book through Anderson’s Bookshop.

CHICAGO – The movie musical seems to revive every year, and writer/director Richard LaGravenese puts his spin on the genre with a modern touch. A couple, portrayed by Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick, goes through the ups and downs of a relationship while belting out appropriate tunes in “The Last Five Years.”