The Keck Players practice a fight scene from the melodrama “Pony Expresso” between the villain Mo Cabana (Clint Ryan) in black cape and the hero Buck Brawn (Timber Bolander) at the Heritage Stage in Wapello, Iowa. Photo courtesy of Kathy Dice.

A classic fairytale will be twisted and puns will permeate the air at the Louisa County Heritage Center for The Keck Players fall performances.

For over two decades this Wapello-based theatre troupe has performed plays for all ages to enjoy. This fall the group will be performing “Bubba the Cowboy Prince,” a western gender-reversal of the Cinderella tale, and “The Pony Expresso,” a melodrama boiling over with punny jokes. Keck Player Kathy Dice shares what she is most excited about in these plays, “I really like how the performance we’re doing has a lot of audience participation. In the past the audience was encouraged to groan or go ‘Ahhh!’ And this time we will be having a villain once more so we’re encouraging the audience to boo and hiss when he shows up and cheer on the hero when he shows up. And we have at least one major fight scene in it. So we’re encouraging lots of interaction from the audience so it should be really fun.”

The Keck Players will perform November 3-5 with a dinner before the show on November 3. Tickets are available at the door and at the State Bank of Wapello.