THEATRE producer Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina always believes that youngsters who are passionate about musicals can do a great job, if not better, than adults.
For this reason, she has given students aged 9 and above from her Enfiniti Academy an opportunity to shine in the fourth and latest season of her original musical Mud, the story of Kuala Lumpur's pioneers.
Award-winning Mud — The Story Of Kuala Lumpur, which ran in Panggung Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur for three years beginning 2015, returns as Mud The Musical from Dec 14 to 22.
To be staged at Menara KEN in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, it aims to add cheer to the year-end school holiday season, and that 90 per cent of its 32-member cast comprises the Enfiniti Juniors.
Enfiniti Academy head Joanna Bessey takes over from Tiara as its director, while Saiful Ridzuan is its music director.
It will retain the original story, created by Chedd Yusoff and Ghafir Akbar, with original music composed by Mia Palencia and Zamzuriah Zahari, and original choreography created by Pat Ibrahim and Zamzuriah.
Joanna said there would be minor differences between the musical and the original.
“For example, we have some of our cast members play historical figures Raja Abdullah and Kapitan Yap Ah Loy who played an important part in developing and modernising Kuala Lumpur. Other than that, the show remains as a 75-minute long show with its script, storyline and five original songs unchanged,” she said at the launch of Mud The Musical at Menara KEN recently.
Admitting that the story touched her heart every time she watched it, she said: “It’s like watching and participating in the most exciting history lesson staged by our ancestors. There is an incredible wealth of industry knowledge which is now being shared since it has been staged for three years.”
“We are incredibly lucky that many of the original cast and production crew are now mentors to the new cast. Our young actors are learning from the incredible work that the creators of the original musical did. This just seems like the perfect framework to educate and apprentice the theatre stars of tomorrow,” she added.
STRONGER SENSE OF BELONGING
For Tiara who loves stories with positive values which contribute to national unity, she said Mud is their way of making a difference from their little corner of the world.”
“For those of us born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, our team wants to help give all of us a stronger sense of belonging and identity. We are now much more in touch with the rest of the world, so it is even more important for us to remember where we came from and to always stay ‘anchored’ no matter where our dreams take us.
“I’m so proud to see how our wonderfully talented cast has passionately shared the story of their forefathers. The characters they play endured extreme hardship and were faced with the choice of moving to another town and starting all over again, yet they chose to persevere and build the city into what it is today.”
Tiara said Mud, which has been performed 2,000 times to date, will feature 20 of the academy’s students, comprising teenagers and two 20-somethings in the ensemble.
“A new addition to the cast is a household name, actress Nabila Huda Suhaimi. She plays female penghulu Mak Puteh who is an interactive link between the characters and the audiences.”
Mak Puteh, she added, replaces the original character, a headman named Pak Tam. Tiara was inspired to have a female village head since she did historical research and learnt that women also became village heads back then.
“Nabila’s daughter Keisha Laila is a first-year student with us, and she’s also joining the ensemble, playing one of the villagers who excels in gymnastics.
“I’ve known Nabila for some years now, and she’s been a staunch supporter of the previous seasons of Mud. So we figured that we should have her involved in this one.”
When asked about improvements to the play, Tiara said it would have a large LED screen to project images of old Kuala Lumpur as well as historical events and personalities.
“Apart from this, we are using the original props such as intricately-drawn, batik-inspired trees and buildings,” she said, adding that rehearsals had begun last month under the mentorship of the original cast members Anding Zaini, Nasz Hanum, Fiza Thomas, Anwar Rusdini, Zukhairi Ahmad, Hans Shahredza and Lily Terindah.
Anding, who played a miner named Mamat for the past three years, is delighted to be back in the play.
“What I love most about ‘Mud’ is that it is lively and interactive, with audience participation in various scenes such as the Great Fire and Great Flood of 1881, the Joget Lambak scene and the Kenduri Kahwin scene. Besides, it’s a microcosm of Bangsa Malaysia at work since it is performed in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil,” he said.
For Fiza, who starred in Ola Bola The Musical early this year, she said: “It’s a realistic story right down to the costumes, where everyone can see beautiful, traditional outfits which are intricately hand-drawn, and special stage effects that take audiences to the beginning of the tin mining boom era.”
Meanwhile, in a video-recorded statement, Nabila Huda said: “As Keisha grows up, I’m glad we get to share on-stage time together. It is good exposure and this adds to her experience.”
Tiara said the actors were currently rehearsing for six days in a week, and three hours in a day.
“This is our fifth children’s play and I’m glad that they are all very committed. We have 1,000 students in the academy, and every yearend they star in a production that is opened to the public.”
KAKISENI AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
The Enfiniti Juniors have performed professionally since 2011 in family-friendly productions such as Seussical Jr (2013), Seussical The Broadway Musical (2014) and Aladdin A Musical Comedy (2015).
Early this year, many of them participated in Ola Bola The Musical.
Mud was a big winner at the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards in 2016. It bagged Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design and the Kakiseni Audience Choice Award. It was also awarded the Longest Running Show in Malaysia by The Malaysia Book of Records.
Tickets to Mud The Musical are priced between RM55 and RM105. Showtime is at 8.30pm for shows on Dec 14, 15, 21 and 22, and 3pm on Dec 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22. For details, go to enfinitiacademy.com/mud/