Mayo's magical musical society and the latest big stage quest
THIS year Ballinrobe Musical Society will once again stage another epic show when they take to the stage for their production of Frozen: The Musical, which runs from tonight Sunday, April 5, to Saturday, April 11.
After the success of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2025, the society is delighted to be bringing Disney back to Ballinrobe with one of the most iconic and well-known modern Disney shows.
Tickets for the musical are selling fast, with the 484-seater capacity Ballinrobe Community School gymnasium set to be a sell-out for each show.
The April dates are a new venture for the musical society who traditionally stage their shows in February. However, going forward, April will be the new time of year for the musical in Ballinrobe, and it is something that the society are looking forward to.
Ballinrobe Musical Society director Alan Greaney said that everything is coming together nicely ahead of next weekend’s opening show.
“It is a different time of year for this year’s show, as normally it is held in February, but on this occasion the show will be staged during Easter. Ballinrobe Musical Society is always good for the big shows and the big choral singing.
“It is all coming together nicely and this week we will be getting the stage ready and the cast ready to take to the stage before our opening night on April 5.
“There was a lot of planning with the new time of year for the show and there was also a lot of change for people, particularly those in the farming community who have to deal with the lambing season. Also, people tend to go away on short breaks with their families. However, everything has gone pretty well, and we are having a lot of fun, and everyone is really enjoying themselves during rehearsals.”
Alan explained that there was an appetite for a family show this year.
“There was a great appetite for this show and something upbeat which would go down well with a family audience. Frozen is a great fit for the society and we have a cast of roughly 60. There is massive interest in this show. People know the music and they also know the characters involved in it as well.”
Whittling down the cast for the lead roles is never easy, as the director explained.
“It is never easy. People who want to be involved in the chorus with Ballinrobe are more than welcome to join anytime.
"When it comes to the lead roles there are only so many parts that you can give out. It is always going to be disappointing for those who don’t get the leading roles, but we like to keep them involved in any way possible.
"It is not necessarily about getting the lead role in the show, it is more about being involved in the society as whole. It is good to be able to get up off the couch on a dark dreary night and going to meetings and rehearsals and making friends.”
Alan said that Lorna Dennehy, who plays ‘Princess Anna of Arendelle’ is one of the hardest working cast members in the show.
“Lorna is one of the hardest working cast we have as there is very little time that she is not on stage.
“The story of Frozen is a story about sisterhood and how fractious that relationship can be, as well as both sisters also caring for each other. The story centrally revolves around ‘Anna’.”
Alan also said that the musical involves the whole town and that there is a great vibe in the community during the week.
“Ballinrobe Musical Society involves the whole town. This is my third year directing the show in Ballinrobe, and I can never get over the amount of community effort involved.
"Everyone rows in behind the show, between pubs, guesthouses, shops, and people directing traffic and parking cars, selling programmes and making tea and sandwiches for the cast and backstage crew. The core of the society is the town and the community spirit.”
Ballinrobe Musical Society chairperson Richard Crumlish plays the character ‘Weselton’ and he explained the reasoning behind selecting this year’s show.
“We went with a smash hit musical this year and we know that people are very familiar with this show.
“A lot of our chorus are people who actually auditioned for different roles and came back and joined the chorus, which has been fantastic.”
Richard said that the society aims to raise the bar every year and sets new goals and targets.
“I think for the last 25 years, every year has been a step up. We reached the zenith in 2010 with the best overall show award (Gilbert Section) at the AIMS for our production of ‘The Pirate Queen’.
"Since then, the bar has gone up and up, and you can see the great production team that we have as well. We have cast members and production team members from all over Mayo and some from Galway as well.”
This year, the society will also have a cast member who recently competed in the legendary Channel 4 gameshow Countdown.
“We also have Ethan McNea from Achill playing one of the lead roles as well. Ethan was on the hit Channel 4 gameshow Countdown and he is playing the snowman in Frozen and he is going to have a fantastic role in the show,” said Richard.
The chairperson also confirmed that April will be the new date for the show going forward.
“April will be the new date going forward as the show held over the mid-term break in February didn’t suit the community school. The school have said that they are delighted to work with us going into the future.
“Our problem is that there are not too many alternative places we can stage the show. Last year we had a seating capacity of 484 seats, and it is going to be around that same figure again this year, and there are not too many venues that can accommodate that kind of capacity.
“Our tickets went on sale on March 18, and our first matinee scheduled for Easter Sunday sold out within 24 hours, and the other nights are selling fast. The fact that the show is now staged over the Easter holidays is also a big advantage. We are now focusing on the positives about the new change of date and time of year for our show.
“We have a new LED wall and screens which will replace a lot of the traditional wooden set and that will help transmit the sense of magic from the stage to the audience.”
Niall Conway is playing two central roles - Oaken and the Bishop - and he explained that he is looking forward to the challenge.
“My main characters are Oaken and the Bishop. There is more comedy to my characters compared to previous years.
“I saw the movie once a number of years ago, and I remember Idina Menzel singing ‘Let it Go’ and that is a massive powerful song. The music in the show is impressive.”
Lorna Dennehy plays ‘Princess Anna of Arendelle’, and the Ballina native is delighted to be working alongside Sarah Corcoran.
“I play the role of Princess Anna of Arendelle and I am delighted to be on stage alongside Sarah Corcoran who plays Elsa, Queen of Arendelle.
“My character is on a journey throughout the whole show trying to find her sister, Elsa, and to bring her back from living on a mountain as she is setting off snowstorms and Arendale is already covered in snow. We are trying to get her back and then figure out what to do from there. My character would be very upbeat and also funny as well as trying to be charming.
“I have been involved in Castlebar Musical Society for the last two years and last year we staged Sister Act and in 2024 we staged Legally Blonde. I then joined up with Ballinrobe Musical Society last year, where I was in the chorus.
“I have done loads of shows over the years as well in my hometown of Ballina.
“In Ballinrobe Musical Society there is a real sense of family and community involvement, and that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to come back for this year’s production.”
The future for the musical society is bright as Lorna had a special mention for two young cast members.
“We also have two brilliant young ladies playing ‘Young Elsa’ (Robin Morley Manning) and ‘Young Anna’ (Rhea May Murphy) and they are excellent in their roles.”