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Historical hilarity

2 min read
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Carmine Calcagni Pacchino took the stage as the swash-buckling bootlegger, Captain Jack DeLysle.
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The Man Whose Name Must Not Be Mentioned, played by Sal Pedone, shows the caretaker, played by Silvia Streiger, the fradulent deed he claims gives him ownership of the mansion.
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A cast of mostly local Fort Myers Beach residents performed the second production of “If These Walls Could Talk.” Not pictured: Marty Senecal.
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Mildred James, played by Elizabeth D'Onofrio, tries to convince her husband Robert, played by Tom Crosby, to leave his science experiments for one romantic afternoon at the beach.
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Playwright Laurie Neinhaus and Jessie Titus play themselves as they explain the many characters that have resided at the Mound House.

“I’m quite sure this is not news to any of you but, our subtropical island paradise has always attracted a lot of…colorful characters.”

One of Laurie Neinhaus’s opening lines set the stage for the telling of the true facts of Fort Myers Beach.

Estero Island has always been a draw for interesting folks, and a cast of local residents took the stage as these colorful characters from Fort Myers Beach’s past for another sold-out show of “If These Walls Could Talk.”

The one-hour play, written by local playwright Neinhaus, shows the various historical moments surrounding the Mound House – along with a little sassy satire. It was performed at St. Raphael’s Church Friday, Feb. 17, and was sponsored by the Friends of the Mound House.

From the skull found while digging Florence Long’s pool to the Man Whose Name Must Not Be Mentioned’s siege of the mansion for 10 days with a fradulent deed, the Mound House’s history was played with a comical twist.

Neinhaus said her cast was very dedicated to the work and made the characters their own.

Sal Pedone, who played the unnameable man, wouldn’t even let a heart attack stop him from carousing the stage. He was admitted to the hospital on Valentine’s Day after a minor heart attack and was released Thursday – just in time to attend rehearsal.

“I begged the doc to let me out and here I am,” he said. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it, but it turned out for the best.”