The Wake

"Most everyone knows that funny man Steve Allen has a serious side. Less well known is the story of Allen's childhood in Chicago, lived out against the bleak background of the Depression and the equally hazardous battleground of his Irish-Catholic family." - The Hollywood Reporter

The Scanlon siblings, who have never gotten along, are gathering from far and wide for the wake of their mother, Bridget, "one of the few saints on earth." As she lies in her casket in the cluttered Scanlon living room, family emotions run wild with each new arrival.

This is a deeply human and heartfelt portrait of a big brawling family filled with foibles, kindness, old wounds, and passion. "There's a feeling of a home that has seen much pain but also has heard some laughter. And the Scanlons can laugh. They're Irish and Allen remembers that too." - Los Angeles Times

One interior set