I was delighted to catch Friday’s opening-night performance of the new musical comedy Disenchanted! at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse. Directed by Corinne Johnson, with musical direction by Ron May, this show is about the other sides – more disgruntled sides – of the lives of fairytale characters made famous through the wonderful world of Walt Disney, with Snow White and her gang of dissatisfied co-princesses venting their frustrations as storybook/movie characters.

It may be fall, but it will also be several “Seasons of Love” at the Adler Theatre on October 3 when the Davenport venue hosts a 25th-anniversary touring stop – and one of the official “farewell performances” – for Rent, creator Jonathan Larson's iconic and beloved rock opera that earned four Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, and the hearts of countless millions of stage fans the world over.

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.