Ken Ludwig's comedy "The Fox on the Fairway" was about to take the stage at Daytona Playhouse last year when Hurricane Irma stole the show.
"We were set to go," said director Larrie Tiffany. "We were in our final week of rehearsal."
The show was originally scheduled to open Sept. 8, but Irma blew into Volusia County that weekend instead. With no guarantee power would be restored at the beachside theater in time for performances the following weekend, the show was rescheduled to now.
“It was a very difficult decision knowing that the cast had worked for over five weeks to get this show ready," said Kathy Thompson, president of Daytona Playhouse. "The set was built. Tickets were sold.”
About nine months later, the play opened its Daytona Playhouse run last weekend and continues through this Sunday.
"It just gave me great pleasure to see a big audience there laughing and having a great time," Thompson said. "I know at the end of the day it was the right decision even if it meant a lot of extra work."
That work included replacing four of the seven people who appear in the show as well as the stage manager, a lighting technician and sound technician, Tiffany said. The set also was redone for the June show.
Still, Tiffany has a positive attitude about the experience.
“I just enjoyed the process probably as much as the finished product," he said.
The comedy — which made its debut in 2010 — is centered on a golf tournament.
"Then it just gets into a lot of high jinks," Tiffany said.
Among those who returned for the June show from the original September production was Ormond Beach's Patricia "Patti" Miracle. She plays Muriel, who is married to one of the rival country club's directors.
"We don't get along really well and I want a divorce because I have fallen for the competition's club manager," she said.
The cancellation of the September show took away the reward of bringing her work to an audience: “It was really frustrating because part of why we do this and why we love to act is the actual reward of acting,” Miracle said.
However, the delay also gave Miracle more time to cultivate her character. New actors also brought their fresh perceptions of the roles to the June performance and changed the dynamics in the show.
"It really turned out to be a different play than I think it would have been," Miracle said. "Not better or worse, just different."