Musical about Mahathir wows Malaysia

Mahathir through the yearsl

James Hookway

Here's more proof that the Broadway treatment can be applied to just about anything.It's called "Mahathir, the Musical," a two-hour song-and-dance extravaganza in this capital city about Malaysia's former strong-arm leader, Mahathir Mohamad. It follows a trail blazed by political musicals such as "Evita" and "Thatcher, the Musical!" And it's dividing critics about as much as Dr. Mahathir, one of Asia's best-known political figures, did in his heyday.

A straight-talking physician, Dr. Mahathir ruled this Muslim-majority nation for more than two decades until he retired a few years ago. He's considered one of the architects of Asia's economic miracle, turning a tin-mining backwater into a gleaming manufacturing hub.

Along the way, Dr. Mahathir muzzled the country's judiciary and drew international scorn for asserting that Jewish groups secretly control the world's great powers. This January, he claimed there was "strong evidence" that the U.S. faked the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. "If they can make 'Avatar,'" he said, referring to the Hollywood sci-fi film, "they can make anything."

Dr M - accused of planned racism and mega corruption

In his biggest domestic battle, in 1998 Dr. Mahathir famously accused his main rival and former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, of breaking Malaysian laws by sodomizing a speechwriter and a chauffeur—an allegation Mr. Anwar denied and for which he spent six years in jail before his conviction was overturned.

All this, reckons theater director Rosminah Tahir, is prime material for a musical. "There's a lot going on," she said after a recent performance of the musical. "The hard bit was cutting it down to under three hours."

The curtain rises on the rural village where Dr. Mahathir was born, and follows him through World War II and Malaysia's independence from Britain in 1957, until he becomes the most powerful man in the land.

Dancers reel around the stage with arms outstretched to symbolize a boom in air travel and tourism under Dr. Mahathir. Others skip and twirl with car steering wheels thrust before them, a nod to Dr. Mahathir's industrialization plans, which spawned a trouble-plagued national car called the Proton.

Siti - two years older than Dr M

There's a love interest, too: Dr. Mahathir woos his wife, Siti Hasmah Ali, by offering to serve as her tutor at university together in Singapore. The climax is a whirling dance routine pitting a rugged, safari-suit-clad Dr. Mahathir against the bookish Mr. Anwar, who is now Malaysia's top opposition leader.

As dancers race around the stage trailing black flags while Wagner-like music booms through the theater, the actors playing Dr. Mahathir and Mr. Anwar brandish daggers and slowly circle each other. The skirmish ends with Dr. Mahathir ripping off his deputy's armband and hoisting it aloft, triggering an enthusiastic round of applause.

In recent months, the real Dr. Mahathir, 85 years old, had been writing his blog, talking with ethnic-Malay nationalists and traveling. He flew to Australia last weekend to meet Malay activists there, but was hospitalized after developing a cold. He was discharged a couple of days later, according to his aide, Sufi Yusoff, who said Dr. Mahathir wasn't available for comment.

People who know Dr. Mahathir say he isn't a song-and-dance kind of man; he prefers to unwind by watching old TV shows such as "Eight is Enough." When the producers approached him with the idea in 2005, he only "managed a smile," according to the program notes. Veteran impresario Siti Rohaya Attan and Culture Minister Rais Yatim persuaded Dr. Mahathir to agree four years later.

"I have no objections to plans for a musical about me," he wrote in a letter to the producers in December. "My only hope is that it's based on fact."

The producers say Dr. Mahathir hasn't been to see the show. But his wife, Dr. Siti Hasmah, told reporters on opening night that "Mahathir" was one of the finest musical experiences of her life. "I was amazed and fascinated," she said.

Anwar after his shock sacking in 1998

Local newspaper critics have said the show's production values aren't worthy of a statesman of Dr. Mahathir's stature, citing faulty props and glitches with prerecorded music tracks. (Producers say many of those problems have been fixed.)

Still, spectators lined up after one recent performance for autographs from the cast's stars. Others posed for photos next to posters of Dr. Mahathir hobnobbing with global leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro and Pope John Paul II.

"Dr. Mahathir is truly a great man and put Malaysia on the world stage," says Hamid Mohammed, a 38-year-old decorator, who paid about $40 to attend with his 13-year-old son, Abdullah.

The audience response surprised the producers, who extended the show's run by five days until this Saturday.

"I know I can't ever be him, but I just try to represent him as best as I can," says local heartthrob Esma Daniel, one of three actors portraying Dr. Mahathir over the course of the play.

It's not clear what Dr. Mahathir's real-life nemesis, Mr. Anwar, thinks of the show. He's fighting another charge of sexually assaulting a male aide, an allegation he denies and says was cooked up to destroy his career. "I don't think he'll be going to see it," says Mr. Anwar's spokesman. - WSJ