Given the undeserved assaults from without that Chicago has taken of late, there’s something reassuring about settling into a sentimental, old-school Chicago play, filled with references to the Cubs, the Bears, the Hawks, the eponymous wind, the frigid winters, da’ mayors, the Trib, The Refrigerator, Fullerton Avenue, the CTA and even the colorful local and fiercely independent retailers whose promotional campaigns collectively form a part of Chicago’s shared memory.

The declining, demi-tragic hero of playwright Lee Kirk’s entertaining “Ashland Avenue,” which had its world premiere Monday night at the Goodman Theatre with Francis Guinan and Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) in the lead roles of needy dad and a daughter (Sam) wanting to break out on her own, is a fictional purveyor of televisio

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