The 20th century novelist O. Henry is known for turning plots on their heads, with outcomes that veer far from the original premise. In the touching “Gift of the Magi,” a woman cuts her beautiful long hair in order to sell it and buy a watch fob for her husband at Christmas, only to find that he has sold his watch to buy her a set of fancy combs for her hair.

So when Henry takes on the subject of kidnapping, you can be sure it will be anything but predictable.

Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater stages a musical version of Henry’s “Ransom of Red Chief,” opening Oct. 20 at the North Kitsap Auditorium, directed by Kerby Criss. The musical adaptation was written by Pam Nagle and George Wingerter.

The story follows two scurrilous bums who plot to kidnap a boy from a small town in order to use the $2,000 ransom to finance their next shady undertaking.

They choose the son of a prominent community member, thinking his mother will pay a hefty price to get her little darling back.

Sam is the brains of the kidnapping operation while the not-so-bright Bill is the brawn.

As with all KCMT productions, the play is double cast with a “taller” and a “smaller” cast. The size designations do not necessarily correlate with age, Criss said, as some of the players in the smaller cast are older than some younger players who are taller.

In the taller cast Sam is played by Chris Novotney while Bill is played by Beau Breakey. The kidnapped boy, who prefers to go by the fearsome moniker Red Chief, is played by Margaret Ehrich. Their counterparts in the smaller cast are Bryson Breakey as Sam, Connor Cather as Bill and Caleb Adams as Red Chief.

Sam and Bill pick out a cave in the nearby hills as a hideout then head into town to capture Red Chief. The boy puts up a fight, but they hightail it back to the hills, ransom bait in tow.

Red Chief promptly declares that he has never been camping before, he hates school and that this is fun. He also wants to play Indians, which is where the name Red Chief, “terror of the plains” comes in. He zeroes in on Bill as his playmate and it quickly becomes apparent that they may have chosen the wrong child to kidnap.

Red Chief proceeds to torture and harass Bill in every manner possible, making his life miserable.

When Sam sneaks a look at the town the morning after the kidnapping he is bewildered to see that life in the small southern town is going on as usual. Hmm. Why aren’t they upset about the missing boy? Bill and Sam are about to find out . . .

From near-scalpings and horseback riding to bruises and boxed ears, the fast-paced action and physical comedy will keep the audience in stitches, Criss promised.

She’s seen proof of that at rehearsal. With 52 children in the cast it can be hard to keep their attention while just a few are rehearsing, but Criss said that hasn’t been a problem with this play.

“The kids have fun coming to rehearsal,” she said. “They laugh all the time.”

The young actors in this play are a mix of stage veterans and newcomers. This is Novotney’s first play, while Beau and brother Bryson Breakey have appeared in several KCMT productions.

Novotney has appeared on stage in another form, as a member of the rock band Somebody Stop Melvin, along with Beau Breakey.

As a side note, Beau was chosen as the North Kitsap High School “Viking” for Homecoming 2006, although he will miss the actual game — it’s opening night of the play.

This is Ehrich’s first major role, but Criss said she was “fantastic” in the spring production of “Fiddler on the Roof.”

She also had high praise for Adams, who plays Red Chief in the smaller cast. Adams has appeared in several KCMT production including as Linus in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”

Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater is a non-profit organization run by Criss, which is open to children ages 6-18 from throughout Kitsap County. Performers pay a small fee to be in a show, and everyone gets a souvenir T-shirt.

Criss noted that the fall program is always a training show, with teenagers running as much of the show as possible, from costuming to lights and stage management. That’s probably appropriate for this show.

“Ransom of Red Chief” opens Oct. 20 and runs for two weekends at the North Kitsap Auditorium, on Hostmark Street across from North Kitsap High School. The taller cast performs Oct. 20, 21 and 22, while the smaller cast takes the stage Oct. 27, 28 and 29.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. Fridays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $8 general admission, available at the door.