Young Frankenstein on his way to Laois in Portlaoise Musical Society show
It’s alive! The monstrous cast for Portlaoise Musical Society’s new production have been selected with the new show hitting the Laois county theatre later in 2026.
The talented society’s annual musical this year has been announced as Mel Brooks’ hilarious comedy Young Frankenstein.
It is set to run for eight nights in the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise in November.
The society revealed their stars this week following auditions.
“After electrifying auditions and just the right amount of chaos… we are delighted to finally reveal the cast of Young Frankenstein 2026.
“To everyone who auditioned — thank you for bringing the energy, talent, madness and laughs. The standard this year was frighteningly good and our production team had an incredibly difficult job making decisions.
“Now… it’s time to meet the wonderfully weird souls bringing Transylvania to Portlaoise in 2026,” they say.
It follows on from their success with their 2025 production Come From Away.
The lead members for Young Frankenstein are;
Ronan Walsh as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, Colm Hogan as The Monster, Aidan McColgan as Igor, Laoise O’Connell as Inga, Helen Nolan as Elizabeth Benning, Dawn Kavanagh as Frau Blücher, Rory Chadwick as The Hermit, Alex Cathcart as Dr Victor Von Frankenstein, and Jamie O’Callaghan as Ziggy. The role of Inspector Hans Kemp is still to be decided.
The production team are Dominic Reid as Director, Mairead McKenna as Musical Director and Lea Carroll as Choreographer. The society is chaired by Angie McNulty.
Young Frankenstein is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Gene Wilder and Brooks who also directed and has described it as his best film.
Grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein inherits his family's estate in Transylvania. With the help of a hunchbacked sidekick, Igor, and a leggy lab assistant, Inga, Frederick finds himself in the mad scientist shoes of his ancestors. "It's alive!" he exclaims as he brings to life a creature to rival his grandfather's. Eventually, of course, the monster escapes and hilarity continuously abounds.
The show will run from November 14 to 21.