From The Puteri's Diaries:
(Tiara Jacquelina got home at 4am on 23rd February 2009, after taking her final curtain call as the Puteri of Gunung Ledang, and her first late night supper in four months to celebrate the end of a most memorable journey. Here, she shares her thoughts and feelings of the day that was.)
Sunday, 22nd February 2009. My phone alarm had been set for 10am this morning. Yesterday being a Saturday, we had a matinee as well as an evening performance, and by the time I got home and was finally ready to switch off for the night, it was 2am. I never wake up without getting my eight hours’ sleep, not even for hell or high water, but this morning I was wide awake for several hours before. I tried everything from deep breathing to meditation to counting germs and mosquito hearts in vain, as my mind was full of thoughts about the day ahead of me.
Today I would be making my final journey up the mountain, and taking my final bow at the curtain call as a girl I had come to know so intimately over the last six years. Just as Puteri went up the mountain a girl with dreams and hopes, and came down as a woman, very sure about what she wanted and determined to achieve it at all costs, I have learnt, grown and blossomed so much along this wonderful journey.
I glanced at my phone message inbox, and something told me not to even go there, not till after tonight. I did, however, open two text messages, one from my director Zahim, asking how I was feeling and if I was okay. The second one was from my sister Carol, telling me that our cousin Angie had managed to buy 36 tickets for my the Eu clan – nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles to be there tonight, with bells, pots and pans and pom-poms.
For a stage performer, the final day of a run is usually the toughest day to get through. Unlike when you work on an album or a film, the process of rehearsing a play requires a lot more mental, physical and emotional investment. Also, a film tends to be shot out of sequence, therefore the emotional journey is interrupted whenever the director yells “cut!”
On this third season of Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical, I have spent every waking moment of my day for the past four months, from 10am to midnight, with 175 people who love what they do, who have joined the team with a clear sense of purpose - to make a difference, and whose energy and spirit of comraderie and unity is so catching.
It’s amazing to see how this spirit can translate across the theatre to the 100,000 people who have come to support and celebrate all 70 performances of PGL we have put on since season one. Believe it or not, it’s the audience that makes the difference between a good performance and a great unforgettable one. This is the magic of “live” theatre. When an audience is “alive” and generous with their appreciation, as we have experienced over the last three seasons in K.L., the performers onstage cannot help but be energized in return, and reciprocate by turning up our game a few notches higher. And together, both the audience and the performers go on this amazing roller-coaster of emotions together throughout the evening. This synergy is what I think I will miss most of all, come midnight when all this will come to an end.
Tomorrow, or perhaps a few days after the dust has settled, most of the ensemble, who are the backbone of our show, will go back to their pre-PGL lives as lawyers, engineers, accountants, university students as well as full-time performers. A.C (Mizal) and Adlin (Aman Ramlie) will move on to the next film or TV project, Ida (Mariana) will no doubt be wow-ing her adoring fans at her next jazz club stint… unless she decides to delve in deeper into the world of magic and illusions after this, that is. And Steve (Rahman-Hughes) would be flying home to London, after stripping off his Hang Tuah regalia and returning the famous Taming Sari to the props department.
I can’t imagine at this point what it will be like tomorrow, when I wouldn’t be getting assistant stage manager Syed’s call time SMS to come in for daily notes from Zahim, followed by make-up, hair and our routine daily sound-check. I had promised myself, that all through today and tonight, I refused to allow myself to get caught up in the emotions of singing my swan song, but would stay focused on delivering the performance of a lifetime for all those who will come to watch our encore performance.
I arrived at my dressing room at 4pm, did half an hour of stretching and sun salutations as a warm-up. With Corinne Bailey Rae soothing my soul on my iPhone, I sat in my massage chair and was determined to pamper myself and soak up every last second of the final leg of this journey. I could never catch a nap successfully in the daytime, and certainly not during the run of a show, since I’m always so full of adrenaline from the time I wake up. However, today, lulled by Corinne and what seemed like the most luxurious massage I have ever had, I floated off… for maybe five or seven minutes in all, but long enough for me to wake up recharged and refreshed.
The M.A.C. makeup team walked through the door at 5pm, followed y a barrage of the usual suspects from the hair, costume and sound departments. One has to practice staying calm and being unaffected when you are surrounded by a storm of people buzzing around you like this, tugging at your hair, plastering microphones onto your face. I took a photo of the team milling around me for remembrance. They somehow developed a work system over the last month of working together –face makeup first, followed by the top half of my costume, which I wear with my workout tights or jeans below, so I can still move around and stretch with ease. I’m sitting on a bright red exercise ball so I can keep my lower back moving continuously in between. Then, during final face makeup touch-up, the hair department gets going. This is when I put on the Anton Browne vocal warm-up CD Steve introduced to me, and I owe him for this because it has helped me so much in developing my vocals along the years. Anyway, by now, everyone - from my dresser, the makeup and hair team – know the exercises by heart, and they even join me in singing along to it. That’s another one for the memory box for me for sure!
Once hair is done, the microphone team move in, and by the end of their session, I look like an autobot with wires, two or three mic packs around my waist and cables running along the back of my costume, through my hair and on the side of my face. I wear at least two microphones, so that in the event one mic fails, which will happen as Murphy says it will, our designer Ken Freeman turns the back-up mic on.
At this point, the P.A comes on and we expect to hear the assistant stage manager Syed’s voice yell out to everyone to go onstage for our daily sound check. Today’s announcement had a different tone to it though. Syed sang his announcement to the tune of Bayan and Puteri’s farewell song “Moga Temui Cinta”. “Telah tiba masa, untuk sound check ini, kerna datangnya dekat pentas, bagai telah dipanggil…” and he goes on for another verse and the chorus. I could hear squeals of laughter all across the three floors of dressing rooms.
Well, I went onstage to do my sound check, and as I looked out onto the still empty theatre, I had a gut sense that tonight was going to be a good night. I was completely energised, and was feeling like I was in absolute top form, and the vibe in Istana Budaya’s Panggung Sari felt so right. I waved goodbye and said my thank you’s to the front-of-house team, the AV projection team, the lighting team and the sound team. “It’s gonna be a great night, everyone… we’re really gonna rock this place!” and they all yelled back “Yeaaaah!!!”
Then came “circle time”, where the cast, ensemble, stage management and creative team heads join hands before the curtains go up, say a short prayer, and listen to any final notes from Zahim. Steve and I reminded everyone that tonight, being the end of the run, it was natural that emotions would be running high, BUT we all had a responsibility to put on a show for the 1,400 people who have paid good money each night to be with us. I joked with everyone that anyone who started crying before the curtains would suffer the fate of Gusti Adipati’s “pancung!”
You know, people often ask me during interviews, what in my opinion is the magical factor that makes PGL so successful, and though I can never really place a finger on one thing for sure, I think one of the factors has to be dedication and focus by everyone in the team. Every one of the 175 people involved in PGL the musical knows that no matter how menial their task may seem, their efficiency and precision is critical to the overall success of the show. Whether its positioning an actor’s microphone, or making sure mic batteries are fully charged, or flashing a torchlight to guide an actor safely across the darkness backstage, or even the guy whose task it is to ensure that the flowers in my kain are placed properly so that they fly when I kick them towards Hang Tuah, the stage crew who are involved in the illusions, a show like this cannot afford to have a weak link, and everyone learns very quickly that they would never ever want to be that weak link.
Another factor that’s very clear to me is the love, the sense of one-ness and the unity in purpose of everyone on the team. We have Malaysians from almost every possible racial and cultural background – Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Ibans, Kadazans, who join hands in that circle every evening at 8pm to breathe positive energy and love into the hands of the person on his right, as he in turn receives energy from the person on his left. Everyone in that circle is united as one in the name of one goal, and constantly looks out for and supports each other, so everyone has an equal chance to shine.
This play has so brilliantly been written by Adlin Ramlie and crafted by Zahim Albakri in such a way that everyone from the lead actors to the support cast to the ensemble has their spotlight moment. In the PGL team, everyone realizes that we all have our designated “moments”, and that collectively, as a team, it is everyone’s duty to help each other shine. After working with uncountable groups of actors over my twenty years in this industry, I have found that it is more common to find actors who are selfish, self-centred and always thinking of how to upstage his fellow actor. In the process the play suffers, as all we are watching is a battle of egos onstage, which is painful and sad at the same time.
When we first put the team together in 2005, I realised that some things needed to be cleared upfront. This was a team made up of the biggest creative brains in the business, and with the name usually comes the ego. I made it clear from the start that theatre is a collective effort, and that we were all new to this game, and that we were all here to learn and support each other, towards a shared mission and goal. Whenever there was dispute, we would put the project first, and decide what was best for the project and not the individual. Because we have been able to stand together stronger, the product of this unity is something the country has never seen before.
Chedd Yusoff’s cheerful announcement welcomes everyone to the show, and everyone rises to sing our National Anthem. Ida and I are on standby in the wings, stage right, doing some last minute stretching, breathing and focusing. The Jalur Gemilang billowing proudly on the front projection screen, and we sing our hearts out as a final wake-up call for our vocals before we open the show with Majapahit’s song of hope, “Suatu Hari Nanti”. As I touch the nearly impossible top note in NegaraKu, a wave of emotion comes over me, as I sense the hopes and dreams that I’d been praying for seem to be coming true.
I glanced through the front screen to look out at the audience, to have a feel for their energy. Yes, the day has finally come – I see Malaysians from all walks of life come together to support and cheer night after night for PGL. From the way they cheer and clap even after the NegaraKu, it’s quite clear that we have quite a different kind of audience now, they are not here to criticize or judge. Instead, I sensed the spirit of 1,400 fans and friends and family of PGL, joining hands to support and celebrate a group of fellow Malaysians, and it felt really right. I wonder if this is what national pride could be about?
This season, the number of Malaysian public who rushed to buy tickets far outweighed our corporate bookings, and because of the Malaysian public, we were completely out of tickets before the curtains went up. Most of the nights, we were playing to an audience who were there with us not because they were given invitations, but because they paid good money to be there. That kind of love and support is channelled across the stage to all of us performing, and that’s where the magic of “live” theatre happens.
The curtains go up, and tonight, all my senses are heightened as I soak up each precious moment onstage. Tonight, I have found a new energy and an extra drive in my delivery. Tonight was different. Tonight, what drove our performance was love. More than just the love story between Tuah and Puteri, or the love of a nanny who gives her life for her Puteri’s happiness. When I met Jit Murad after the show, he said during the curtain call, he could sense the love between the cast members, and the no-holds barred love and affection the audience showed us tonight, as they do every night.
Maybe tonight, I was a little overwhelmed by the love in the air. In the scene on the cliff where Hang Tuah and Puteri pledge their eternal love and vow to be together again, the beautiful words we borrowed from Mamat Khalid’s film version of PGL touched me in a way I’d never felt before. Remembering my own warning words of “Pancung!” to the cast backstage, I bit my tongue, clenched my fists and breathed, breathed, breathed till the wave of emotion passed. Phew.
My next challenge came during the scene when my nanny Bayan sends me off to Melaka. This scene has never been easy for me, because Ida as a most giving actor always affects me with her genuine warmth. I felt that lump in my throat again as she started the song. Breathe, breathe, breathe! You cannot hold a tune when you’re emotional, and “Moga Temui Cinta” was one of the most beautiful songs in the show, I didn’t want to mess it up for both Ida and me.
Thankfully, my thoughts were distracted during the intermission by autographing program books and CDs and posing for photos with the cast and crew backstage, in between doing a makeup touch-up, a complete costume and hair change and mic battery checks. The first half of Act Two is a lot lighter for me, as I have moments to rest whilst Steve and Adlin wow the audience with their solo numbers.
When Adlin goes on as the dancing Sutan, I warm up in the wings for the marathon to come, which begins from the halfway point of Act Two, right up to the end of the show. This part of the show is about forty minutes of non-stop action and high drama.
The time has come, and I’m escorted across the darkness backstage to stage right by assistant stage manager Mei Chuen and Stage Manager Hamidon. Midon is the unseen unsung hero whose backstage cues are as critical as the performance onstage itself. Upon Production Stage Manager Pat Gui’s cue, Midon cues the moving of the structures onstage geniusly created by Raja Malek called the Stupas. Each of the six Stupas weighs half a ton each and need to be moved across the stage according to precision timing to end up at a specific spot every single night. Hamidon also looks out for everyone’s safety, guiding actors on and off sets in the dark. People always ask me how it is I make it off the mountain and run into the Melaka palace in just a few seconds. I have to run down a scaffolding staircase so fast I can’t feel my feet, whist hanging on to dear Hamidon. One slip could cause me an injury I may never recover from all my life, but on PGLM we have learnt that as a team you have to literally be able to trust each other with your lives.
I share a light moment with assistant Stage Manager Sharus who manages the 1-ton waterfall set. He cracked me up so much tonight when he produced what appeared to be an air freshener spray which he told me he had sprayed all over the unsuspecting set movers called the Stupa crew before I enter the enclosed set with a whole bunch of them. He said “I want to make sure the air on Ledang will smell fresh as morning due for you!” I remember telling myself, “I’m glad I’m still laughing, at this point.”
Then came “the scene on the mountain”, my final scene with my dear buddy and stage partner of three seasons, Stephen Rahman-Hughes. What a journey we’d been through together. Steve trained me to sing in exchange for Bahasa lessons, and his priceless guidance gave me so much more confidence in preparing myself to take on this musical.
Something happened during that scene on the mountain. Maybe it was the way Rohaslam Hizad’s haunting flute played Puteri’s anthem tonight, or the realization that Puteri had almost come to the end of her journey at this point, but all it took was for Steve to say , “Dinda, disini rupanya Dinda.” I was so choked up with emotion that I could hardly utter my reply, “Iya Kanda... Adinda di sini…” I breathed and breathed and breathed so much my chest hurt, I made a fist and dug my nails deep into my palms, but I was too far gone. I was in bits and I’m afraid I must have done Steve a terrible injustice by affecting him, too.
It was so painful struggling to keep it together during the song, fighting to get some kind of melody across in the song, or even to just talk it. Steve was patting me on the back to try and calm me down and breathing into my ear like a husband to his wife in labour. But he ended up a mess himself too.
Later that evening when we had our final night supper celebration together, Chedd Yusoff who is Steve’s understudy, joked, “tonight, we have witnessed that the great Steve is only human after all and can sing off-key like the rest of us mortals!”, to which Steve replied in his usual dry British humour, “thanks a flippin’ bunch, Tiara, for ruining my career. That was the first time ever that I’d hit a bum note.” Bless…
Thankfully though, I managed to contain myself again after the duet, and in the subsequent scene, the naming of the seven conditions, I felt the pain, loss and fury of the princess well up from deep inside me. I held on to that adrenalin through the next scene, which is one of my absolute favourites, the showdown between the Puteri and the Sultan of Melaka. We had workshopped this scene to be much more dramatic and “human” for this season, but tonight has to take the cake, for I almost felt electricity pass through my body as Adlin and I “passed the ball” over to each other. For a moment during the scene, his fury and rage felt so real that I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Then came the final scene on the mountain, where Puteri prays for Tuah to make it before the sunrise. In my heart, I hear the Pussycat Dolls singing, “I hate this part right here…” because as much as I’m struggling to keep it together, I can see the silhouettes of the ensemble below looking up at me, sniffling, shaking and weeping uncontrollably. The end is near for all of us.
The curtains come down finally, and the response from the audience breaks the floodgates wide open, as we hear them cheer, clap and roar like never before. It appears as though Puteri Gunung Ledang has not only affected me and the wonderful people I have worked with on this project, but somehow that magic has translated across to the 100,000 people who have been touched by her spell along the years.
I am back at home now after my first late night supper in four months, but I still can’t switch off completely till I write all my thoughts and feelings on paper. I’m so blessed to have had this wonderful opportunity to play the dream role of a lifetime, alongside the best and most talented, passionate and dedicated people in the industry. Blessed to have the love and support of a husband who makes me believe I can touch the stars. Fortunate to be greeted with loving arms by the Malaysian theatre and film audiences who have followed me on this wonderful, unforgettable journey of being Gusti Putri Raden Ajeng Retno Dumilah, the “Puteri” of Gunung Ledang.
Now I lay me down to sleep, content that I have fought the good fight, and won the good race, and I look forward to tomorrow morning when I shall wake up as Tiara Jacquelina once again, with new mountains to conquer, new stars to reach for.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Friday, 20 February 2009
YOU ASKED FOR IT - PGLM3 ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING CD IS OUT!
Specially for all fans and supporters of PGL to know, as of yesterday 19th feb, PGLM3 limited edition original cast recording goes on sale at I.B at the PGL merchandise counter!!
I got Roslan Aziz to rush this out specially for the fans of the show, and after many nights of working 24hours, we managed to put this together, 23 songs from the show.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
200 TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR ENCORE PERFORMANCE FOR PGLM
Good news for fans of PGLM3!
200 new tickets for the encore performance on Sunday 22nd Feb have JUST been released! Go online and book them QUICK cos it's your last opportunity to catch the show before the season ends...
You can buy your tickets directly from all axcess outlets or Istana Budaya, as well as online at www.axcess.com.my from 9AM tomorrow 18th Feb!
KATAKAN is out!
KATAKAN – New single by Tiara Jacquelina
Official press release
The single:
Composed by DICK LEE
Lyrics by ADLIN AMAN RAMLIE
Arranged and produced by CHONG LIM
Recorded at IPOH RIVER STUDIOS, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Recording Engineers: CARL SCHUBERT, CHONG LIM
ASSISTANT ENGINEER: ALEX BECK
Executive Producers BOUDENG EDRUCE and TIARA JACQUELINA
The video clip:
Directed by PIERRE BARONI
Director Of Photography LEIGHTON DE BARROS
The cover:
Photography by CHRIS A
Styling & Makeup by SHADA HAMID
Cover design by CHRIS A and REDZ
Info bytes:
Tiara has released 5 songs prior to KATAKAN:
PGL movie original soundtrack
Asmaradana
PGL pop singles album:
Di Puncak Tertinggi (duet with Stephen Rahman Hughes)
Keranamu Kekasih (duet with Stephen Rahman Hughes)
Katakan hadirmu kerana cinta
Tinta Dewa
Tiara on KATAKAN single:
After announcing that PGLM3 would mark my swan song as Puteri after 6 years, this single marks my first move into exploring a new dimension in my journey as an artist and performer.
I have always loved singing, and have often dreamed of recording an album, but never had the confidence to do anything about it until I recorded Asmaradana, and went on to learn to sing in Puter Gunung Ledang The Musical in 2006.
Q: What are your musical influences?
My early musical influences since my growing up years have been the music of U2, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, and now Daughtry, Fergie, Colbie Caillat and Corinne Bailey Rae. I of course also love songs from all the great musicals – Phantom, Wicked, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables. I love the way musical songs are written so they really touch and move you, and affect you for years and years.
KATAKAN is an expression of the style and genre closest to my heart, which is pop-rock with a touch of ethnic.
I hope to someday fulfil a dream of recording a full album featuring ethnic pop-rock music, which hopefully will be known as my own signature musical style.
Q: do you play any musical instruments?
I have recently taken up the guitar. I have a gorgeous blue Taylor guitar (like the one Michelle Branch has!), and after PGLM3, I plan to seriously concentrate on my guitar lessons and hopefully learn to write some of my own songs someday.
Q: how is it any similar, and how different is it sharing your work on film, on stage and in your music?
It’s much more accessible and more “mobile” if you know what I mean… If I wanted to share what I do with my fans, I couldn’t set up a movie screening so easily, nor can I put together a stage musical as and when I please, but I can quite easily set up a singing gig with a band or just with my guitar if I wanted.
As for similarities, a good song stays with you and affects you just as much as a good movie or a good musical.
Q: How did the single KATAKAN come about?
I was in Tasmania, Australia on a sabbatical with my husband last August, and on a trip across to Melbourne, I went to watch Dancing With The Stars. I met up with the musical director of DWTS, Chong Lim, who seemed at the time to be one of the biggest deals in the Australian music scene.
His name card had his company’s name as IPOH RIVER STUDIOS. I said to him, hang on… Ipoh mali, ka? And we hit it off from there. I told him how absolutely proud I was to be in the audience that day and to see one of our “home boys” come so far!
We met up a couple of times and talked about doing a few projects together. Chongy said he wanted to work on a song with me, just so we got a feel for working together, and I said why not. He wanted me to explore a genre that I was most comfortable with, and I told him that genre had to be ROCK, so we decided to try KATAKAN as a starting point… and now here we are!
Q: Tell us about the music video shoot.
Chongy got a team together to shoot the music video for the song together whilst I was in Melbourne. It was directed by Pierre Baroni, a really humble guy with a great eye for photography especially. Pierre told me on the shoot, that in Australia, we work in very small production teams, and everyone on the team learns to double or triple up on their job functions. He was directing the shoot, setting up the background, art directing the shoot, checking and doing touch ups on my hair and makeup, amazing… I thought that this only happened in Malaysia!
Q: How does it feel to have this new single out in the market?
It’s a liberating feeling to know I’m able to break out of my image as the Puteri, and to do something I’ve always wanted to do, and to be MYSELF and share a part of who I am with my fans. I want to explore new terrains, new MOUNTAINS (no pun intended!), and take the journey as far as I can go.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
The Star - Journey of a Princess
Friday January 30, 2009
Journey of a princess
AS Tiara Jacquelina prepares for her final curtain call as the legendary princess in Puteri Gunung Ledang, let’s take a look at the exciting journey that brought her here.
2003: It is announced that Tiara will take on the role of Gusti Putri Raden Ajeng Retno Dumilah in a big screen adaptation of the Puteri Gunung Ledang legend. With a budget of RM20mil, it is touted as the biggest local production ever made.
2004: The movie opens to critical acclaim and box-office success, with much praise for Tiara’s portrayal of Puteri.
The film adaptation of the legendary Puteri Gunung Ledang starred Tiara as Puteri Gunung Ledang and M.Nasir as Hang Tuah. Directed by Saw Teong Hin, the film also boasts an illustrious cast of M.Nasir, Rosyam Nor, Azri Iskandar, Sofea Jane, Datuk Rahim Razali, Christine Hakim, Alex Komang, Slamet Rahardjo and Khairul Anwar. The film is screened at the Venice International Film Festival, the Stockholm Film Fest, the Goa Film Festival and the Singapore Media Film Festival.
It also becomes the first Malaysian film to be submitted for consideration for an Academy Award, and eventually makes it to the top 50 shortlist.
2005: Tiara is awarded a Best Actress award for the film at the 50th Asia Pacific Film Festival. She also bags the Best Producer Award at the inaugural Asian Festival of First Films in Singapore.
At the 18th Malaysia Film Festival, the movie wins four awards, and continues to be screened at festivals including the Palm Springs International Film Festival in California, the Bangkok Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Tiara announces that the story will be presented again as Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical (PGLM).
2006: PGLM premieres to rave reviews. It features Tiara singing onstage for the first time. A second season is announced for later date the same year. Tiara further launches The Legend of the Princess of Mount Ledang, a picture book for children. The success of PGLM brings about its Singaporean debut at the Esplanade.
2007: PGLM sweeps eight awards at the Fifth Annual BOH Cameronian Arts Awards.
2008: A third season of PGLM is announced.
2009: Tiara performs onstage for the last time as Puteri.
The Star interview - Better Than Ever!
Friday January 30, 2009
Better than ever
NO two ways about it, the third season of Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical (PGLM) looks set to be unforgettable.
The legendary love story between the heroic warrior Hang Tuah and the mythical princess of Gunung Ledang is not only a much-loved musical, it also has the distinction of being one of the most successful Malaysian productions.
Besides being Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina’s last turn as the legendary princess, this season will also boast the return of its stellar cast, including Stephen Rahman-Hughes as Hang Tuah, Adlin Aman Ramlie as the Sultan, A.C. Mizal as Adipati and Ida Mariana as Bayan. Datuk Zahim Albakri is also back as director, with Roslan Aziz as music director, and Pat Ibrahim controls the reins once more as choreographer.
Tiara and Stephen Rahman-Hughes in Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical Set during Malacca’s golden era, the musical’s previous seasons have attracted almost 60,000 people from different cultures and backgrounds, making it a truly Malaysian show. The musical holds the record of being the longest running local musical to play at Istana Budaya, earning rave reviews along the way.
For those of you who don’t know, the story goes like this. Adipati, the ruler of Majapahit, turns to Sultan Mahmud of Malacca for protection from the kingdom of Demak. The Sultan agrees, but only if he is given the beautiful Majapahit princess Gusti Putri Raden Ajeng Retno Dumilah in exchange.
Adipati agrees, but meanwhile, the Puteri and Sultan Mahmud’s Lord Admiral, Hang Tuah, have fallen in love with each other. When Hang Tuah is sent to Demak, the Puteri goes up to Gunung Ledang to await his return. Little does she know that when he does come back, it is to claim her for Sultan Mahmud! Enraged, she sets seven impossible conditions for the Sultan to prove he deserves her.
To make this season a truly unforgettable experience, a touch of magic has been added to the mix. In the vein of hit international musicals like Wicked and Lord of the Rings, the mystical and spiritual aspects of PGLM’s tale will be played up with dazzling illusions and special effects. Enlisting the help of a skilled illusionist, the show this time around will feature truly exciting and unbelievable scenes of characters performing “magic”.
From left, principal cast members of Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical, Ida Mariana, Tiara and Adlin Aman Ramlie (right), pose with show director Datuk Zahim Albakri. The musical will begin its third run on Feb 6. The third season will also feature tighter and more refined performances, which is the result of the creative team revisiting the musical’s script. The experience and familiarity of the cast should further give the audience truly deep and gripping performances.
To inject freshness to the show, however, an entirely new ensemble cast has been gathered and trained from scratch. There are also new musical arrangements and compositions for the theatre-goers to look forward to.
Visually, too, there are new elements to enjoy. Additional sets and a completely new lighting design will add to the magical atmosphere. Gorgeous songket pieces from Royal Terengganu Songket will add richness and authenticity to the costumes, and several completely new looks can be expected.
“All of us (cast and crew) are very excited about the changes to the show,” said director Zahim. “We really want the audience to be wowed.”
Zahim revealed that the creative team decided from the start that the third season should be different from the previous two.
“We didn’t want to keep doing the same things. So we sat down together and really talked about what we could do differently. We thought about how to delve deeper into the story, to make more of an impact.”
> PGLM’s third season, spearheaded by Enfiniti Productions Sdn Bhd, will run from Feb 6 to 21 at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The musical’s sponsors include RHB Banking Group, Public Bank, UEM Group Berhad, ntv7 and Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah. Ticket prices range from RM30 to RM350 and are on sale through Axcess Tickets’ website (axcess.com.my). Alternatively, call the ticket hotline at 03-7711 5000. For details, visit www.pglthemusical.com.my or enfiniti.com.my.
The Star interview - Moving Ahead
Friday January 30, 2009
Moving ahead
Stories by SHARMILLA GANESAN
Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina prepares for her final stint as the mythical princess of Gunung Ledang.
SHE had the time of her life playing the part of a princess. Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina would be the first to admit that.
“Puteri has been such a big part of who I am for the past few years,” she gushed of her role as the princess in Puteri Gunung Ledang. “Playing her has the kind of magic that I’ve never found anywhere else... I know everything about her; how she moves, how she speaks, what she thinks, how she would react, even her scent! It’s like having to say goodbye to your best friend!”
‘I can happily say that I’ve had a full adventure on my journey with Puteri Gunung Ledang’, says Tiara Jacquelina.
Yes, all good things come to an end. And the time has come for the star to say goodbye to the princess – after a motion picture and three musical theatre runs, Tiara bids adieu to her beloved role as Gusti Putri Raden Ajeng Retno Dumilah.
A teary-eyed Tiara recently shared that the upcoming third season of Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical (PGLM) next month would be her final stint as the mythical princess, a role which started with the film version in 2004.
“I can happily say that I’ve had a full adventure on my journey with Puteri Gunung Ledang, (and that) I’ve taken it as far as I could,” she said. “While I’ve had the time of my life playing the Puteri, I am ready to move on to new endeavours.”
It is not, however, a separation that will come easily. The role of the Puteri has become almost synonymous with Tiara’s graceful and strong portrayal. Tiara, too, has been living and breathing the character for almost six years. Before filming for the movie began, Tiara even spent several weeks in Indonesia researching the part of the Majapahit princess.
The producer/actress/businesswoman revealed that as difficult as it is, she cannot be attached to this one character any longer. “This is all I’ve been for a while now, and there comes a point when you know you have to move on,” she said. “In order to grow, I need to try my hand at different challenges.”
It is no secret that Tiara is an accomplished actress in the fields of film, theatre and television. What’s more, she is also a talented producer in her own right, presenting quality local productions through her company, Enfiniti Productions.
As a film actress, Tiara is well-known for her role in Suhaimi Baba’s Ringgit Kasorrga, for which she won the Best Actress award in 1995 at the Malaysian Film Festival. She also made Malaysia proud by getting a role in the Hollywood film Beyond Rangoon, where she acted alongside Academy Award winner Frances McDormand and Patricia Arquette.
The mother of two began her love affair with theatre in 1990, when she was cast as the female lead in Joe Hasham’s A Man for All Seasons. She then worked with Rahim Razalli in Kelas 2020, and continued to work with many other theatre directors. Her play, Siti Zubaidah, is still remembered as one of the biggest box-office hits at the Istana Budaya.
Where Puteri Gunung Ledang is concerned, it is undeniable that both the film and musical versions of the legendary tale took the local entertainment industry to new heights, thanks in no small part to Tiara herself.
The film Puteri Gunung Ledang was screened all over the world, including the prestigious Venice Film Festival in 2004. It was even submitted for consideration for an Academy Award. PGLM, on the other hand, was a runaway hit, playing to full houses for two seasons so far. The musical was also staged with much success at the Esplanade, Singapore, in 2006.
“We managed to create some new benchmarks, added to the growth of theatre-goers, and contributed to the acceptance and recognition of Malaysian films locally as well as abroad.
“It is something my team and I didn’t even dream of. I’ve also had the good fortune of working with the best talents in our industry. We’ve achieved so much!” said Tiara.
“Now, I’m looking forward to climbing and conquering new mountains.”
While she will stay on as executive producer of PGLM, Tiara hopes that saying goodbye to the Puteri will leave her free to pursue other endeavours.
“I miss so many things! I miss producing films, and I definitely miss acting in other productions. So I certainly hope that I will be able to act in and produce other films and plays,” she said.
She also has a pet project she hopes to develop – a performing arts school. It is an idea that has its roots in the Starmaker: Musical Theatre Bootcamp organised by the PGLM creative team in 2007.
“As a producer, I see that we keep on grumbling about the quality of the shows here. But the difficult question that needs to be asked is, do we have the talent?” Tiara explained.
“I want to see in our industry a solid stable of actors who are confident and capable. This is the only way we can come out with consistently good work.”
While the upcoming staging of PGLM will be an emotional one for Tiara, she also looks forward to seeing someone else take up her mantle. With the necessary commitment and hard work, she is sure that there are actors out there who can play Puteri equally well.
“Of course, there will be a transition period. But I’m confident that people will come to see that the role is not Tiara. I’m just an actor. Every staging is a story in itself, and the audience has to allow it to evolve.”
Most of all, Tiara is certain that this story of the mythical princess of Gunung Ledang will continue to hold its special place in the hearts of Malaysians.
“I believe Puteri Gunung Ledang will live on, because it’s the most beautiful story. There will always be new blood, and the show will continue to grow, live and breathe.”
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