Musical Drama MAR Flood Praises When Gladi Resik, the Performance Continues Until May 17

JAKARTA - The Ciputra Artpreneur Jakarta stage instantly turned into a romantic battlefield when the musical drama MAR underwent a rehearsal on Thursday, May 14, evening. Hundreds of spectators who filled the auditorium were glued by the slick combination of the Bandung Lautan Api 1946 historical narrative with a magnificent big band music arrangement.

The atmosphere of grief enveloped the room when dozens of members of the Indonesian Republic Veteran Legion (LVRI) were present in the front row. The presence of these independence fighters gave magical energy to the actors, including Gabriel Harvianto and Galabby who performed prima to bring to life the characters of Mar and Aryati. Every ending scene was always greeted with a long applause as a form of appreciation for the quality of acting and stage techniques displayed.

The return of the musical MAR this year is not without reason. After successfully winning the Best Musical Album award at the 2025 AMI Awards, ArtSwara Production decided to bring this work back with a larger scale. This production highlights more dramatic visuals, including the projection of a major fire event in Bandung combined with dynamic lighting.

Executive producer and director Maera also expressed his gratitude for the warm reception received on the opening night. He emphasized that although the story outline still maintains its essence, there are various significant updates in terms of technical and character improvisation to provide a new experience for the audience.

"I am so happy and touched by the warm response of the audience tonight, we feel that our hard work is able to achieve such a positive response," said Maera.

"This time the performance is much more magnificent and different from last year. A new stage set," added Maera. "In terms of scenes, it hasn't changed much, but specifically in the Ambu character, we deliberately give a lot of improvisation space so that the atmosphere is more liquid and fresh."

Titien Wattimena's composition script is also strengthened by a new line-up of faces that give a different color. Names such as Tanta Ginting, Teza Sumendra, to Devina Karyasasmita also contribute to the depth of the story.

The music from the ArtSwara Orchestra under the direction of Ava Victoria also became the life that binds the historical tension with the love between Mar and Aryati almost perfectly.

The high appreciation came from the LVRI DPP through Marsda TNI (Retired) Wresniwiro, who assessed this work as an educational medium that is very effective for the younger generation. According to him, the depiction of the spirit of 1945 through musical theater art can help young people understand how difficult the struggle to defend independence was in the period 1946 to 1949.

In line with this, the actress who won the Citra Cup, Lenny Marlina, who was present with Bambang W. Soeharto, also gave praise. He admitted that he was impressed with all aspects of production, from acting, fashion, to authentic stage design.

"It's amazing, MAR, it's really good. I really enjoyed watching it from episode to episode. Almost all aspects are the best, including the acting of the actors, stage design, lighting and especially the music and the very nice costumes of the actors," said Lenny.

"I hope ArtSwara can work together with the government to provide an opportunity for MAR to be watched by many more young people so that they can know their history," he added.

For people who want to witness this historical grandeur, the musical drama MAR is scheduled to run until Sunday, May 17.

In addition to the main cast, the audience also had the opportunity to see the performances of Taufan Purbo and Dania Najmi as understudies who were ready to bring a fresh interpretation to the afternoon performance on the last date.

For information, tickets for the show are still available and can be accessed through the official website https://artswara.co.id/galeri/3/mar.