A peasant girl falls in love with a prince. The prince is deceived by the girl’s wicked step-mother and step-sister. The prince finds out the truth, marries the girl and they live happily ever after.
Sound familiar? Well, that girl’s name isn’t Cinderella — it’s Puteh.
Puteh, which means “white” in Malay, is a traditional Malaysian folk tale resembling the Western tale of Cinderella in many ways, but with martial arts action and heightened drama, including an assassination plot.
Performed by the Malaysian Student Organization Sunday night in the Erickson Hall Kiva, “Puteh” was just part of this year’s Malaysian Night, which also included traditional Malaysian food and cultural information.
The actors began rehearsals for the play in January , but planning for the event began last November.
The decision to put on a full theatrical performance was based on audience feedback from last year’s Malaysian Night.
“Last year we did martial arts theater and we received positive comments from the audience about it,” chemical engineering junior Hazeeq Mohammad said. “And we knew the audience liked the food, too.”
International theatre is unique to MSO, he said, as very few other international student groups at MSU put together cultural theatrical events on campus.
Mohammad is the president of MSO and served as project coordinator for this year’s event.
“This event is specifically designed to inform the audience about our culture, clothes, dance and martial arts,” he said.
In addition to coordinating the event, Mohammad also played a role in “Puteh.”
“I’m playing the bad guy,” he said, referring to his role as the prince’s evil cousin, Pangeran Wijaya who attempts to seize the throne throughout the course of the play.
Aside from the performance, a short quiz was held before the show based on informational posters outside of the event hall.
Audience members were questioned about various aspects of Malaysian culture, with answers coming from attendees of all ages, including a 10-year-old boy.
After the play, the audience was invited to dine on a variety of Malaysian cuisine, which was brought by MSO members from Kalamazoo .
The event was free for all attendees and the reason for that was simple, Mohammad said.
“Everyone likes the feeling of getting free food,” he said.
Although many Malaysian students at MSU are half a world away from their families, the MSO community provides them with a home away from home.
“All of us live in Spartan Village and every week we have a potluck,” Mohammad said. “We support each other and we’re like a family here. There are graduate students who have kids, and we’re like their uncles and aunts.”
