KUALA LUMPUR: Five years after the popular Ombak Rindu movie, comes the theatre staging, which is based on the novel series by Fauziah Ashari.
To be staged at Istana Budaya (IB) from April 22 till May 1, it will be produced by Siti Rohayah Attan of CTRA Productions.
While the 2011 movie Ombak Rindu starring Maya Karin and Aaron Aziz was a big hit, collecting RM10.9 million at the box office, Siti Rohayah said she is hopeful that the theatre version would also receive overwhelming response.
The main cast for this theatre version comprised of Keith Foo as Hariz, made popular by Aaron, Uqasha Senrose as Izzah (made popular by Maya Karin) and her tomboyish twin Suri and Zarina Zainoordin as Hariz's ex-fiancee Mila (made popular by Lisa Surihani).
Siti Rohayah said her adaptation of Ombak Rindu for the stage will "stay true to the book" and 80 per cent of it will be from Cinta Tiada Akhirnya (2005), the second of the three Ombak Rindu novels.
"The first novel Ombak Rindu (2002) and third novel Rindu Cintaku (2008) will each contribute 10 per cent of my two-hour play, and thus there's going to be a lot of differences with the movie which was mainly based on the first novel," she said when met at the Ombak Rindu theatre Press conference at IB today.
Siti Rohayah whose well-known plays include Tun Mahathir The Musical (2010) expressed confidence that Teater Ombak Rindu will be well-received by fans of the movie and the novels, since both of them have been a hit with the public.
"CTRA aims to adapt as many novels into plays, as we've been encouraged by the positive feedback received from the staging of Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck last year and Di Bawah Lindungan Kaabah in 2014, both of which are based on novels by Hamka.
"Adapting novels into plays is also a great way to encourage readers to read famous novels, especially homegrown novels."
Teater Ombak Rindu will be directed by A. Aris Kadir.
"It is my most challenging work because it is based on a popular local novel which has sold more than 200,000 copies," he said.
"Besides an exciting storyline, we've also got a hardworking and dedicated cast some of whom are first-timers on stage," he added.
Tickets are priced between RM37.10 and RM174.90. Call 03-4026 5558 for more information.