Paradise Returns to Marco

Anyone for a Marco Island-based mystery that brings humor, engaging characters, references to familiar local sights, sounds and locations, and heartwarming relationships to the stage?

Well, the Arts Center Theatre has done just that with its production of “Paradise and Mr. Prince, which takes the stage May 23, 25 and 26. Fittingly, the theater piece is directed by its author, Marco resident Mitchell Eil. 

The play focuses on private investigator Dan Paradise, who’s grappling with unexpected life choices and situations. Then, a new opportunity appears thanks to his friend and local law enforcement officer, Tommy Spinelli, and his quirky and talkative wife, Teresa "Squeaky" Spinelli. Together, the threesome becomes engrossed in assisting Mr. Martin Prince, who’s on a mission to reconnect with a long-lost friend after 50 years of no communication. The men had worked together when the Mackle Brothers were developing Marco in the 1960s and 1970s. 

“Paradise and Mr. Prince” is the second in Eil’s three-play series that uses Marco as their setting. The first, “The Golden Charm of Marco Island,” was performed here in 2020. In that production, Paradise solves the case of murder and the theft of a golden version of the Marco Island Cat on behalf of Rose Mullins, who was falsely accused of the crimes.

Set some years later, “Paradise and Mr. Prince” sees the P.I. sharing a home with his now significant other, Mullins, and her son, Grady. Their comfortable world is upended when Paradise’s friend and employer dies. Now, he’s forced to reexamine his life and what he wants it to be. Meanwhile, Mr. Martin Prince has come a long way to see if Paradise can assist him in finding a long-lost friend whom he hasn’t seen or heard from in more than forty years.

Aside from Paradise and Mullins, Spinelli is also a returning character from the “Golden Charm,” as is Mr. Rifkin, the man seeking to locate and buy the statue. But Eil said each play stands on its own and familiarity with those characters isn’t necessary to fully enjoy “Paradise and Mr. Prince.” 

“I think if you remember the previous play, you'll recognize these people and what happened,” he said. “But that's not required to get something out of this.”

The cast boasts a number of familiar faces from previous Marco community theater productions, including Alex Costello, Kip Jones, Patricia Mills, Cindy Sepich, Ty Szumigala, Jay Terzis, and Cash Cahill. 

Plans for the trilogy’s third installment are still taking shape. But as with its predecessors, Eil intends to utilize a lighthearted, positive tone in his playwriting. He cited a recent article by Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan about a production of Cabaret that she’d seen as a reason for adopting that approach. 

“She was so disgusted, so repulsed, she thought it was so awful that she called it the ‘uglification’ of art,” he said. “And I thought to myself, ‘I should invite her down to see this play because it is so much the opposite of ‘uglification.’ There's nothing negative in it at all. I think the characters are good people. They have their flaws, but they're good people. And the main thing is they live on Marco. It's a paradise, so people enjoy living here. The basic premise of the plot is that people are having a good time in general. There are no human adversaries on Marco. What there is, is another kind of adversary. It's called time. A lot of people are dealing with aging, so aging is part of the plot. It's just what we live with down here.”

"Paradise and Mr. Prince" will take center stage at the Arts Center Theatre in Marco Town Center on May 23, 25, and 26. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by visiting marcoislandart.org or calling 239-394-4221. Arts Center Theatre is located at 1089 N. Collier Boulevard, Unit #432.