Get to watch performances
from Sept 6 to 8 at Sarawak stadium
KUCHING: The Olabola The Musical Show acts a moderator that binds the community together in conjunction with the Malaysia Day celebration.
Tourism, Arts and Culture minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah stated in a press conference yesterday here at Riverside Majestic Hotel, Astana Wing.
He said that the three-day show held at Sarawak Stadium, Petra Jaya will be expecting a full house audience and will be the first one to have a full show for two and a half hours per show.
“We are excited that the musical show is coming to Kuching as we are slowly getting used to musical theatres and even the state government has agreed to turn the old State Legislative Assembly Building to be a centre of performing arts.
“We are fortunate in Sarawak to be given the full show of Olabola The Musical that reflects the deep sense of wanting to make sure the Sarawakians who are watching the show will be very entertained,” he said.
Karim who is also the Youth and Sports minister added that the show will be free of charge for the public but tickets are needed upon entry to the stadium for the purpose of crowd control.
“Half of the stadium will have the stage, props and others while the other half is for the audience therefore — there would be about 1,800 seats available,” he told.
He further added that there are 1,800 tickets per day that can be redeemed by the public.
“The musical show has a deep message to build unity among the community and football has been our number one sport.
“Tiara has brought back those good old times of Malaysian football and hopefully with this musical theatre, it would bind Malaysians together and show how proud we are for our national team,” he told.
Enfiniti Sdn Bhd chief dream maker and musical director Puan Seri Tiara Jacquelina stated that the musical tour in Kuching will be bringing the entire casts and crew which comprises of 50 actors on stage and 120 crew members handling the stage, props, lightings and others.
“Apart from that, six containers load filled with the stage props, make-up sets and others will be shipped in which due to Kuching experiencing the full production of the musical show.
“For those who could not make it down to Kuching to watch the musical show, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has confirmed that they will be live streaming the musical show throughout Sarawak on our EnfinitiMY YouTube channel on Sept 7,” she added.
Tiara also informed that they are looking forward to perform for the people of Sarawak and very excited that the state government places so much emphasis on the arts and culture.
She then told that the musical difference from the movie is that they used the basic storyline which was adapted, added several characters and add a different colour to it.
“We stuck to the original storyline from the real life events as per the film, everything is completely original including the songs, dialogues except for a few key iconic lines from the movie which was kept in the show but the other parts of the show is written from scratch,” she explained.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is expected to attend the Olabola The Musical show on the first night (Sept 6).
The Olabola Merdeka Tour kicked off with three full house performances on Merdeka Day in Penang on Aug 31 until Pahang on Sept 21. Kuching will be the second stop of the tour with three 8pm performances from Sept 6 to 8 at Sarawak Stadium.
Also present were Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting, Sarawak Sports Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Ong Kong Swee, Sarawak Arts Council chief executive officer Sharkawi Amit, permanent secretary to the Tourism, Arts and Culture ministry Hii Chang Kee and husband to Tiara Jacquelina Tan Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi.
The casts of Olabola The Musical, Brian Chan who plays “Tauke” Chow Kwok Keong, Nabila Huda who is playing in multiple ensemble roles, Nasz Sally who plays Cik Kiah and Lim Jia Wen who plays Ong Tiam Chai were also present at the press conference yesterday at Riverside Majestic Hotel, Astana Wing.
