A theatre full of laughing people can’t be wrong. Irish Classical Theatre Company’s production of Dracula (A Comedy of Terrors) is pretty darn funny and it’s a great riff on Irish author Bram Stoker’s original tale of blood-thirsty love.

This version has some comical gender-bending, cross-dressing, and small-ish cast playing multiple roles in rapid succession. Throw in some lifted-from-the-book and movie details and plenty of timely pop culture asides, you have a quite a night.

You know the story: Dracula (Jorge Luna) flies at night to feed his need for a tasty neck of blood. Of course, there’s a lovely maiden named Lucy (Keelie A. Sheridan), her sister Mina (Daniel Lendzian), the innovative and money-conscious father Dr. Westfeldt (Charmagne Chi), and Lucy’s nerdy suitor (Brendan Didio). There’s also Dracula’s wingman Renfield (Chi), Kitty the  maid (Sheridan), Dracula’s nemesis Van Helsing (Lendzian) and a creepy gravedigger (Didio).  With a group like this, you know you’re in for a rip-roaring 90 minutes of farcical fun.

First of all, Dracula himself. Luna plays him like a rock-star/strip club hottie with the rippling muscles and a little glitter. He knows how to work it. At the other end of the romantic lead spectrum, Didio as Harker (Lucy’s beau) is adorably nebbish as the realtor trying to unload some gloriously gothic properties. Didio has his transformation, too, and he matches Dracula swagger by swagger.

With a time-tested story, this production is all about the experience of being there. The low lights and washes of blood red, the sketched scenic design that’s reminiscent of the opening of PBS’ Mystery (minus Dame Diana Riggs’ sultry intros), the creaks and rustles that suggest rusty chains in aging manor houses. These were all thanks to Matthew DiVita, lighting design,  David Butler, scenic and puppet design, Carlos Ivan Marquez and Jorge Luna, sound designers, under Chis Kelly’s direction. These elements with Cassie Cameron and Isabel Urbanski-Farrell’s costumes create the framework.

But oh this cast: Chi’s devilish gleam as Renfield, her oafishness as the Captain, and pompous Dr. Westfeldt are a riot. Lendzian’s shifts from sister Mina to vampire-hater Van Helsing are scene stealers. Luna’s lusty charm heat up the house, and Sheridan and Didio manage to carve a love story from all the chaos. What an ensemble!

Dracula (A Comedy of Terrors) closes September 29 (get your tickets!)  and will appeal to those who know the many details of the franchise (like my  theatre companion did) that are woven in between the funny bits and the rest of us who are just there to laugh. It runs 90 minutes, no intermission. Find details and tickets at http://www.irishclassical.com.