Review: Jakarta Art House's MAMMA MIA! is ABBA-solutely Spectacular

The community theatre Jakarta Art House’s production of Mamma Mia! The Musical ran for three shows on December 22nd and 23rd 2023 at Teater Besar, Taman Ismail Marzuki. It is the community’s first major theatrical production under their current name (previously known as Elhaq Latief Production). Mamma Mia! The Musical is directed by Aldy Inzaghi and produced by Fadli Hafizan; Dinda Lisa Reideka serves as the choreographer, Grace Tamangendar and Dianya Nareswari as vocal directors, and Felita Kezia Chandra as music director.

Mamma Mia tells the story of Sophie Sheridan (Mutiara Azka), who lives on a Greek island together with her mom, Donna (Ashley Aisyah Hamel). Sophie is about to get married to her boyfriend, Sky (Reza Andriyanto) and hopes to have her father give her away during the procession.

However, there’s one complication: she doesn’t know who her father is. Luckily, she finds an old diary that names three possible candidates: the rocking musician Harry Bright (Rafiz Ari), architect of Donna’s taverna Sam Carmichael (Bran Sawamoto Vargas), and globetrotting traveler Bill Austin (Arsy Fadillah). She thus sends letters of invitation to the three of them.

Donna is aghast to find her three old flames on the island, ostensibly by chance. She has to deal not only with maneuvering the awkwardness of facing three past lovers at the same time, but also preparing the wedding of her only daughter. To lighten the burden, she enlists the help of her old friends Tanya (Mutiara Bertha) and Rosie (Kamila Mardhiyyah); the three of them were once part of the girl group Donna and the Dynamos.

As relationships develop and break, emotions run high in the Grecian island. It culminates in a wedding scene, where the three possible fathers want to be the ones to walk Sophie down the aisle. After another twist or two, everyone celebrates their own happy ending. And, of course, all this is set to the timeless, endlessly danceable tunes of the Swedish pop group ABBA, sung by the characters and the literal Greek chorus.

Mamma Mia! The Musical is perhaps one of the most well-known musicals in the world today, propped by its blockbuster movie adaptation. And, if one were not familiar with the show, the music involved is undoubtedly familiar, with hits like “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”, “I Have a Dream”, “Waterloo”, “Super Trouper”, and many more.

On one hand, these iconic songs mean that most of the audience would be (and, indeed, was) familiar with them and can easily sing and dance along. But on the other, they’ve got big, sparkly shoes to fill; the audience knew what to expect from this title.

First of all, Jakarta Art House’s production of Mamma Mia managed to be both faithful and fresh. The production team has an acute awareness of the show’s fame and played with the material a bit, imbuing the show with Indonesian jokes and phrases that made this production feel uniquely local.

The large cast is also very well-managed in terms of blocking and direction. It is really quite satisfying and immensely fun to see the cast members fill out the theatre’s large stage and move in harmony with their infectious energy (although at times I wish they made more use of the set’s different levels). Lisa Reideka’s choreography, in particular, really shines with bigger numbers such as Money, Money, Money and Voulez-Vous; the choreography also frequently involves well-loved homages.

Little touches on the direction really brought the show together, showcasing the production team’s creativity. Two parts came to mind in particular: the usage of handheld bubble blowers that fill the theatre and giant beach balls that the cast playfully threw around, often reaching the audience’s seats. Additionally, the refined transitions from scene-to-scene made for a smooth viewing experience.

Mamma Mia! The Musical might not have the most complex narrative, but it’s a crowd pleaser first and foremost, and this production maximized its fun factor, not only throughout the show proper, but also with an invitation to sing and dance together after the curtain call.

However, all these directing acumen wouldn’t matter with weak performances. Thankfully, the cast of Mamma Mia! proved that they were up to the task.

In the co-lead roles of Donna and Sophie Sheridan are Ashley Hamel and Mutiara Azka. Ashley Hamel is a competent lead character, playing both the frenetic and introspective sides of the free-soul-turned-mother-and-taverna-owner well. But it is during solos and duets that her vocal performance really shone, with great technical and emotional control in her performance.

Meanwhile, Mutiara Azka’s Sophie is a fascinating take on the character; she’s peppy, perky, and has seemingly limitless energy. She manages to bring the energy up whenever she’s on-stage; although this seemingly perpetual cheerfulness became a double-edged sword when she still maintained the chipper attitude even as she struggled in communicating with her three possible fathers in the number Voulez-Vous, to the point she fainted at the end. She appeared more subdued in most of Act 2 before returning to her spirited self at the end. I believe a slightly more consistent tone to the characterization would help in making the character feel more well-rounded.

Playing opposite her as Sky is Reza Andriyanto in his first role in a musical theatre, after previously working in modeling and acting. He’s done a perfectly agreeable job for the role of Sky, although the emotional outburst at Sophie for not telling him about her ploy to invite the three fatherly candidates comes off as a tad overwrought. But on lighter scenes, he did a fine job.

It would be remiss not to mention that Reza’s got a chiseled physique that the show isn’t afraid of putting front and center, alongside Pepper (Raymundus Leonardo) and Eddie (Risky Yakob Purba). This production isn’t afraid of getting flirty and steamy, especially in scenes like Lay All Your Love on Me and Does Your Mother Know; it’s somewhat of a rarity in the Indonesian theatre scene and got a huge response from the audience.

Other scene stealers are Sophie’s aunties and Donna’s lifelong friends, Tanya and Rosie. Mutiara Bertha’s Tanya is simply perfect in physicality. She is utterly charming to watch as the playful older woman type who’s been around the block and mercilessly toys with her younger suitors with impeccable comedic timing, although some lines were lost in the mix due to the accent and/or the sound system.

Meanwhile, Kamila’s Rosie is, notably, a hijabi, just like her actor. It’s still a relatively infrequent occurrence in Indonesian licensed productions of Broadway shows to have a hijabi cast member, but it allows for interesting, inspired costuming and acting choices. Kamila is a great comedic actor who’s the perfect pair to Mutiara Bertha’s Tanya, making for a truly dynamic supporting duo.

As for the father figures, Rafiz, Bran, and Arsy are all solid actors and performers, but there’s limited material for them to really dig deep into in the script, owing to the large number of characters. The one with the most characterization is perhaps Bran’s Sam Carmichael, whose relationship with Donna really evolved throughout the show and allowed the actor to showcase his powerful voice.

Mamma Mia! The Musical is an ensemble piece and the ensemble here is a joy to watch by themselves. They are full of vigor and character, with little moments in the crowd that makes it delightful to just scan the stage and see what’s happening in a corner or another. Moreover, it is apparent that the whole cast really put everything into the performance, making for a high-octane show appropriate for ABBA’s discography.

The performances were also supported by a team of pit singers to create a fuller sound, as well as a live band, making for a robust experience overall. Although it is not without its flaw; mainly, that the sound balancing can be a bit off at times, making dialogues difficult to hear when there’s music playing.

The production design (with Bebe as art director and Gisella Almayda as head of costume and makeup) is quite noteworthy. It consists of the entranceway to Donna’s taverna, a plaza area in front of the entranceway, as well as some stairs; in the back are cutouts of the island’s skyline, full of Grecian buildings. All around the sets are an array of blossoming, colorful flowers. More set pieces are ushered in and out, serving as the taverna’s rooms.

As for the costuming, they are mostly everyday attires appropriate for the character, although the big show-stopper is definitely the Donna and the Dynamos’ disco-inspired outfits; they are bigger than life and fully sparkle in white. It’s also really interesting to see how they vary the costumes for each member, with Tanya getting a sexier variation while Rosie dons a fully covered one. There’s also some color coordination for several of the numbers, with red and black in Voulez-Vous and orange in the ending scene (although some of the ensemble’s outfits have a more muted shade that sticks out compared to the brighter pieces).

Despite being a community production, Jakarta Art House is definitely punching above their weight. The production is very well-crafted, knowing fully the strengths of the show and making the most of its charms. It’s fun, flirty, and endlessly joyful. The marketing is also a huge success, with all three shows nearly selling out. With a production of this caliber, I eagerly await what the community has in store next.
 

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