The show must go on -- albeit four or five months later.
After having to postpone the late January production of "The Duck Variations" due to COVID-19, Scene One Theatre is taking another crack at it next week to wrap up the season.
It's set to run at 7:30 p.m. June 2-4 at Scene One, 623 Ohio St., as a free show. Donations are accepted.
"We wanted to make it a party," said Mark Wegman, Scene One founder and co-director of the show. "There will be a duck pond with prizes, refreshments and snacks. It's free to thank our regular theater patrons for their support and our sponsors."
"The Duck Variations," by David Mamet, is about two older men chatting about ducks -- and life -- while sitting on a park bench.
The two-actor play -- starring Wegman and Alan Bailey -- is done in the reader's theater style, where the actors read from the script, focusing more on the lines and delivery versus movement.
According to past News Tribune coverage on the production, Wegman said he hopes to add reader's theater shows to Scene One's regular lineup each winter. And after coming across Mamet's 1972 play about two old friends, he called up his old theater pal Bailey to take the second role.
In the show, the two trade misinformation while observing the movement of ducks in the park. Through 14 short scenes, life lessons pop up about law, friendship and death.
It's humorous but also emotional, Wegman said.
Bailey, who is a pastor at First Christian Church in California, sees some deeper themes in the play as well.
"The issues of mortality, making meaning of life, those are theological issues I think both of these characters are verbalizing," Bailey said in January. "You'll be laughing, then stop and think about (the deeper meaning). Like, 'That's hilarious -- oh, wait a minute.'"
By the end, two men said they hope their work will help the audience understand the characters and themes a bit clearer.
"We humans, who make our lives so difficult, could learn a lot from ducks," Wegman said earlier this year.
Despite being a free show, reservations to "The Duck Variations" are encouraged, Wegman said. Email [email protected] or call 573-635-6713. Walk-ins will also be accommodated.