Tiara Jacquelina up close

I met 2 kings, a princess and a knight. The kings were Malaccan and Javanese, the princess was the sister of the Javanese King, and the knight, couldn’t speak the language. Technically…

I spent close to $100 to watch the musical. The hype about it was all over the Malay news across Malaysia and Singapore, so I couldn’t resist.

Here’s a summary of the story. Legend has it that Gusti Adipati, Ruler of Majapahit, betrothed his sister, Princess Gusti Puteri Retno Adjeng Dumilah, to the Sultan of Malacca, to show his gratitude to him. The princess, however, was in love with Hang Tuah, Malacca's most respected laksmana (knight). Having to choose between love and loyalty, the knight decided to sacrifice his love for the princess for his king. Frustrated by her lover's decision, the princess imposes seven preconditions for her hand in marriage to the king, including a golden bridge connecting Mount Ledang to the palace, the hearts of seven mosquitoes, seven full buckets of the tears of virgins and a bowl of the heir's blood. Angered by her ridiculous requests, the king banishes the princess to Mount Ophir to live in exile, never to be seen by the public or her lover again.

AC Mizal who played the explosive Gusti Adipati, Ruler of Majapahit, at the post-show autograph session

The transitions from scene to scene were so smooth and quick that one might not have had enough time to let the previous scenes sink in comfortably. The stage sets made full use of lighting to create silhouettes that danced on the colourful drapes. The costumes and dances were impeccable. Tiara Jacquelina and Stephen Rahman Hughes played the leads of the princess and the knight. They embodied their roles perfectly, though Hughes in real life doesn't speak a word of Malay. He flubbed a few lines but made up for it with his gorgeous singing voice. In one particular scene, he held his note for so long that I thought he was going to faint for lack of air. Tiara, however, did not fare as well: during some of the numbers, she sounded like she could not quite catch her breath.

The cast of Puteri Gunung Ledang - The Musical, at curtain call

But the best actor of the musical had to be AC Mizal, who took the role of Gusti Adipati, the powerful and domineering ruler of Majapahit. I was blown away by his performance and I believe others were too, judging by the standing ovation given to him at curtain call. He delivered his role so well, and it was so believable, that I had goosebumps for days.

The musical in general was spectacular. I could see members of the audience taking in the visual feast and their feet tapping to the music. The only thing that irked me was the English subtitles displayed at both sides of the stage. They were red and in bold so you couldn’t help but keep glancing at them and inadvertently missing some parts of the show.

Till the next adventure, Liyanna