OlaBola will be turned into a stage musical

Local box office hit OlaBola has scored its very own stage adaptation. It is scheduled to run early next year.

Produced by Enfiniti, OlaBola The Musical will be staged at Istana Budaya for a month, beginning Feb 22, 2018.

Actress, producer and founder of Enfiniti, Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina will make her directorial debut with the project.

“One of the biggest challenges will be transporting the audience from the theatre to the stadium. I want to make people forget that they’re in a theatre and feel like they’re in a stadium,” she said in a press conference at Kuala Lumpur today (May 16).

OlaBola, which took in RM16.67mil in the box office and is the third highest grossing local movie of all time, centres on the real-life story of the country’s national football team and its journey to qualify for the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Tiara added that while the musical’s overall storyline will stay true to the film, it will be restructured into a musical format.

The musical will feature rap- and hip-hop-infused original numbers.

“I was trying to figure out what is the sound of OlaBola? And I thought about how footballers would communicate. They’re sportsmen, they’re active, so what energy do they bring?

“So, one day I thought, it felt natural for them to rap,” she said.

Tiara acknowledged the genre may not be everyone’s cup of tea, stating: “There will be something in it for everyone. Not every character will rap. We have identified certain characters who will converse through rap, other characters won’t rap.”

Early bird tickets are priced at RM120 and will go on sale on May 25. The promotion will run for three months. Thereafter, tickets are valued between RM250 to RM300.

For more information, visit olabolamusical.com