There were people dancing in the aisles at the Timber Lake Playhouse on Friday night, with patrons enjoying the theatre's current and vibrant musical production Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Audience members absolutely went wild for author Alan Janes' show – they were on their feet, clapping, cheering, and singing along to such classic tunes as “Peggy Sue,” “Maybe Baby,” and “Oh Boy.” The atmosphere was positively charged, and I found myself singing along, too. It was so good to see people cutting loose and having a fantastic time.

Over the past decade-plus, theatre audiences have seen her in such area productions as A Streetcar Named Desire, Oedipus Rex, The Gift of the Magi, and this past June's Hate Mail. They've heard her sing in such musicals as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Monty Python's Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Assassins. But until now – or rather, until its September 16 through 18 run at Davenport venue The Mockingbird on Main – stage fans haven't spent a full 75 minutes in her solo (albeit piano-accompanied) theatrical company until the debut of her one-act cabaret Wishes: An Evening with Wendy Czekalski.

Described by the New York Times as a musical that delivers “an affirming blast” and “the high that only live theatre can induce when everything clicks,” the jukebox sensation Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story enjoys a September 9 through 19 run at Mt. Carroll's Timber Lake Playhouse, a show that inspired Broadway World to state, “Whether you grew up bopping along to his music or this is your first Buddy experience, there's something to enjoy for everyone.”

Spending Friday night at the Black Box Theatre was like joining a master class in manipulation with the venue's latest production Murder in Green Meadows. While I wish director Jacqueline Isaacson had been slightly less specific about the number of gunshots in the production during her pre-show announcement, as it became a bit of a spoiler as the night progressed, the evening overall was enjoyable.