Shooting for success

> Producer-director Tiara Jacquelina is pulling out all the stops for the upcoming Olabola the Musical

an intense football match where the captain of the Malaysian football team gets a red card and loses his temper with the referee. As a result, the team fails to qualify for the Olympics.

Tiara is honest enough to admit she does not know much about football. However, she says she hired “the best people” to advise her on the subject.

“The story is not just about football,” she adds, pointing out that the heart of OlaBola is a story about a multicultural team who came together and put their differences aside to achieve a bigger dream.

“It is the kind of story I love to do, and if I don’t do this story, I know I will live to regret it,” she says.

Tiara can be considered the Malaysian version of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Two of her previous cutting-edge musical theatre productions are Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical and P. Ramlee the Musical.

When asked about the new musical’s budget, she refuses to reveal too much.

After much persuasion, she says: “All I can say is, this [has] the highest budget for a musical theatre from my company, and perhaps in Malaysia.

“The story of Olabola requires – and deserves – that kind of budget.” Tiara adds that Olabola director Chiu has been to the rehearsals, and is satisfied with what he has seen. “When I first announced my desire to turn his work into a musical, he told me that he has a difficult time imagining his characters singing,” says Tiara. Now, he does not have to wonder any more. “It is interesting for him to see his story being interpreted by a different director,” she adds. Tiara is fully aware that the success of the film has set some high expectations for her musical. “It is very important to have high expectations,” she says. “If your expectations [are] high, everyone will keep aiming to achieve them. “I do push everyone hard, and I tell them it comes from love. I love getting the best out of an individual.”