KUALA LUMPUR: The feel-good musical Ola Bola has won all-round praise since it arrived last year.
And now, it is a major contender for the annual Boh Cameronian Arts Awards’ top prizes.
Its director Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina revealed on Instagram today that the musical had received 10 nominations in nine categories.
They are Best Musical Direction (Duan Sharafuddin), Best Performance By An Ensemble, Best Direction (Tiara), Best Performer In A Leading Role (Brian Chan and Iedil Putra), Best Set Design (Raja Malek), Best Costume Design, Styling And Make Up (Zaharah Nakibullah), Best Sound Design (Duan Sharafuddin and Mohd Najib), Best Lighting Design (Ee Chee Wei) and Best Of 2018.
Tiara said: “So so blessed and grateful for this. The best gift ever and dream come true, for my first time as a director. I still remember how crazy it was last year when we were just focused on putting our most complex show ever together, and telling the story of Team Malaysia in 1980 as truthfully as we could. We didn't even think about submitting for judging till the show was up and running.
“I have no words aside from a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart, to all 200 people involved in making Ola Bola The Musical, Kakiseni and the judges who considered our show qualified for a nomination, our supporters, and fans and audiences who made the experience so Luar Biasa for everyone.
“Pray that we do well at the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards this April 28.”
Ola Bola The Musical, produced by Enfiniti Productions, follows the journey of Harimau Malaya captain Chow Kwok Keong, who is determined to lead the national football team to Olympic glory in 1980.
It is an adaptation of the 2016 movie Ola Bola which is based on Harimau Malaya's 1980 match with South Korea to qualify for the Moscow Olympics.
The musical was staged at Istana Budaya for a second time from Feb 18 to March 11 and starred Brian Chan, Iedil Putra, Abimanyu Masilamani, Luqman Hafidz, Hafeez Mikail, Tony Eusoff, Douglas Lim and Nabila Huda Suhaimi.
The annual awards organised by Kakiseni is now in its 16th year. It has more than 30 awards in four categories namely dance, theatre, musical theatre and music.