Malayan Tigers roar louder
Back for a second season, Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina’s Ola Bola The Musical truly lives up to its ‘luar biasa’ tagline, writes
The state-of-the-art technology used to good effect last year was further enhanced by Tiara.
Computer graphics of leaping, kicking and tumbling players looked more realistic, likewise the animated tigers that reflected their fighting spirit.
The striped beasts’ roars were loud and clear, sending shivers down audiences’ spines.
The young and talented cast had “grown” with the show, and all of the main actors put in more convincing performances with passion and emotion.
Singing, rapping, dancing and acting their hearts out, Chan, Abimanyu Masilamani (goalkeeper “Spider-Man” Muthu Kumar), Luqman Hafidz (striker Ahmad Ali), Lim Jian Wen (reserve player Ong Tiam Cai) and the new addition to the team Hafeez Mikail (second striker “Balak” Eric Yong) all played their parts commendably.
Fans’ initial fear of first-time theatre actor Hafiz not sounding Sabahan enough (Eric is from the East Malaysian state) were quickly put to rest.
He proved that he could master the “boleh bah” accent, which his predecessor Kai Chalmers did to perfection.
Iedil Putra Alaudin was more at home as commentator Rahman Ramli this time around, and his interactions with the cast looked more natural. Likewise his wit on the microphone while on duty in Stadium Merdeka.
His references to the national team in terms of traditional dishes, for example, wantan mee, roti canai and nasi lemak, hilariously captured the cultural diversity of Kwok Keong and friends, and encapsulated the Bangsa Malaysia spirit in sports.
Iedil gave enthusiastic commentaries that constantly touched hearts. He had a fantastic way with words — getting “copy” and “kopi” for his superiors — and he wonderfully celebrated the arrival of British coach Harry Mountain (Tony Eusoff) with the song Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
The versatile and experienced Tony did not look like Kwok Keong’s “gwailo”, but nevertheless made up for that with his near-perfect English accent.
Tony sounded a lot sterner and commanding than his predecessor Stephen Rahman-Hughes, and if the audiences closed their eyes while listening to him, they could easily be forgiven for thinking that Coach Harry was played by an English man.
The supporting characters were also given a boost, courtesy of their actors’ more spirited performances.
Newly-retired hip-hop singer Altimet received a standing ovation the moment he appeared.
Playing “ultimate nightmare” Sarjan Ahmad, the footballers’ boot camp captain, he made himself fiercer as the military officer, and used his “mean” rapping to push them in various team-building challenges, illustrated by animated scenes on the screens.
Altimet also did a fantastic job creating