The Wild West will get a saucy twist when Donegal Junior High School students bring a pun-filled melodrama to the stage. With boo-worthy villains, cheer-worthy heroes and a spaghetti sauce showdown that could save a struggling hotel, "Spaghetti Western ... Or Mission Im-Pasta-ble" promises a heaping helping of comedy as audiences are invited to join in the fun.

The show will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 20, and at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, in the auditorium of Donegal Junior High School, 915 Anderson Ferry Road, Mount Joy.

"A grandmother and her granddaughter are trying to make a spaghetti sauce so they can save their hotel from Duke Dreadful, who is trying to take it because he's trying to own the town," explained Emma Carothers, who plays the dastardly Duke. "The town put up a spaghetti sauce contest with prize money, and the prize money is what they're going to use to get the hotel back."

The simple goal of creating an award-winning sauce gets complicated when the grandmother breaks her arms and her granddaughter, Petunia Pearl, has to step in.

"It's up to me to finish the sauce, but I'm not a good cook, and I'm very clumsy, so I'm just trying to come up with a sauce that will save the Hoot 'n' Holler, the hotel," explained Madeline Aungst, who plays Petunia.

The show features a cast of colorful characters, including prospector One-Eyed Joe, portrayed by Patrick Cuda.

"My character is a gold miner," Patrick said. "He has a son named Joey, and we are both miners, so Joey is a minor miner."

The pair is on a hunt for gold, despite the fact the town's supply has dried up.

While various parties try to make a winning sauce, they also have to contend with the Bad Bunch, a band of outlaws roaming the town, as well as the antics of Duke Dreadful.

"Duke Dreadful is trying to sabotage everybody else in the contest, so his partner, Saucy Sally, can win and the hotel will become his," Emma explained. "My character is also trying to marry Petunia."

She noted that she's having a lot of fun playing the villain, especially wearing various disguises and speaking in accents when she's in disguise.

The show is interactive as well, with audience participation encouraged such as booing when Dreadful takes the stage or clapping for the sheriff, Kirk Ketchum, portrayed by Jonathan Miller.

While the antics on stage will entertain, activity backstage is just as important, said Evelyn Phillips, a member of the tech crew.

"Backstage, we are helping with the props, giving them to the actors, and we have had people painting the backdrops, which look really great," she said. "We also have students doing the sound and lighting."

She hopes audiences will come out for the show, noting that the cast and crew have been working for months to prepare for the performances.

"We put a lot of effort into this show, and it's a very entertaining show," Evelyn remarked. "It's not a well-known show, but it's a lot of fun to watch."

Madeline agreed, adding, "It has a really good plot, and I think it will be a good show for people to come and experience something different. People from a lot of different ages will like it, because it has something funny for everybody."

The humor is so pervasive in the show, it's been hard for the cast members to keep straight faces in rehearsal, Emma said, recalling a particular moment when her character has a frightened reaction to seeing the gang of outlaws.

"When I screamed the first time in rehearsal, everybody broke down laughing," she said. "Our director had to remind us that we're not supposed to be cracking up onstage."

She thinks the fact that it's not a well-known show works to the cast's advantage.

"People won't know the plot ahead of time like they might with other shows they know," she said. "Audiences will just go through the journey with us on how the story ends, and I think that's fun."

Above all, Patrick said, audiences should prepare for an entertaining experience.

"This show will make people laugh," he stated. "Audiences will have a great time, so come and see this show."

All seating will be general admission, and tickets will be on sale at the door.