Review: KHATULISTIWA at Jakarta Theatre, Taman Ismail Marzuki

(Co-contributed by Michelle Oswari)

Josodirjo Foundation and ZigZag Indonesia presents a Musical Drama : Khatulistiwa, a social program to educate the people of Indonesia on how diverse and rich their country is.

The name Khatulistiwa was adapted from Indonesia's nickname, "Zamrud Khatulistiwa" because the country is one of the greater islands that pass through the equator line. The nickname itself also portrays the beauty of Indonesia with their vast forests and trees decorating the country from Sabang to Merauke.

The sold out 2 day show from 19 to 20 November 2016 involves a whopping 100 cast members chosen carefully through a grueling audition process. Indonesian celebrities also completed the cast. Those participating were Rio Dewanto, Kelly Tandiono, Sita Nursanti, Tika Bravani, Ade Firman Hakim, Epy Kusnandar, Teuku Rifnu Wikana, Gabriel Harvianto, dan HaikAl Baron.

Held in Teater Jakarta, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Khatulistiwa portrayed an original story that combines Indonesian history as the main part of the story. The story tells us about Tomo, a father that brings his kids and also their friend to go camping. They are Tio, Chacha, Daneil, Faiz, Sinyo and Bella. Along their journey, they talked about Indonesian past history, from VOC to Indonesia's independence day. Some of the past heroes that they talked about in this musical were Cut Nyak Dien, Kornels Prince, Sisingamangaraja, Martha Christina Tiahahu, Dewi Sartika, Sultan Hasanuddin, and Indonesia's first president Soekarno and his vice president Hatta. They were all played visually and dramatically in this musical.

The foundation set the musical performance date to early November, in accordance to Indonesia's National Veteran's Day which was celebrated in the 10th of November 2016. It is hoped that this musical could be a great contribution to children of the nation the message of endeavor, and give inspiration and character to the children itself.

My opinion for Khatulistiwa musical was the story was so precious because it retold the Indonesian history in a beautiful way. I think the story still has some room for improvement but I do believe that the main message the musical was trying to give had already grasped the audience. The 2.5 hour long musical also presents us Indonesian dance and culture which makes it more lively. The lighting, the props, the cast was wonderful. They played their character wonderfully. The sound system could have been better, But one of the most favorite element in this musical is of course their music. The music just blew me away. I can see a lot of audience were in awe just listening to the music. It delivered the story, playing with audience's emotion and also made me realize that Indonesia has a lot of instrument that sounded beautifully, they combined it with orchestra and my heart just burst upon hearing the music that went well along the story. Overall, watching the musical Khatulistiwa, made me realize how blessed I am to be born in Indonesia that is so rich in art and culture.

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