Review: Thearapy: The Sequel and The Finale Are Delightfully Unhinged, Original

On June 8 and 9, the community theater Censtacom put on the newest iterations of their therapy-themed musical revue Thearapy at Teater Salihara. Titled Thearapy: the Sequel and Thearapy: the Finale, this pair of shows brought back the eccentric story, up-and-coming musical talents, and deep love for musical theater and its performers that the series has become known for.

Thearapy: the Sequel and the Finale share a production team, with both of them having Josephine Angelica as the scriptwriter, director, vocal director, and executive producer. Kania Alisjahbana and Rai Putriansyah serve as co-producers. 

Both shows feature choreographies by Rai Putriansyah & Robertus Darren Radyan. Jeanne Herlina leads the musical department as the music director, while also playing as an accompanist alongside Hazim Suhadi. Bobby Widjaja assumes the role of technical director.

For those uninitiated, Thearapy started in 2023 with the first installment named Thearapy the Musical, followed by a mini show called Thearapy: the Conspiracy at 2023’s Festival Musikal Indonesia. As the title – being a portmanteau of ‘theater’ and ‘therapy’ – suggests, the musical series tells the personal stories of theater performers in a group therapy, told through musical theater songs.

Thearapy: the Sequel features a whole new group of performers with a new set of problems, ready for thearapy  Not only that, they also have a new thearapist by the name of Jovita, who listens to their professional and personal problems, sometimes offering friendly advice with varying degrees of success.

The cast of Thearapy: the Sequel are Albertus Raynaldi, Aldy Inzaghi, Ashley Aisyah Hamel, Charin Christa, Daniel Nathan, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Fei Luthfy, Haggai Pesakh Percival, Hitadewi Abhassara, Lisa Reideka, Mitch Hadju, Narendra Pryottama, Rafiz Ari, Reba Aryadi, and Windy Liem.

As per Thearapy tradition, each character is named and (at least partially) based after the actor playing them. Though, noticeably, this time it’s played more loosely, with some characters not sharing the actor’s real life story, at least on a surface level.

In this iteration, the problems on display include an American expat moving to Jakarta, a teenager wanting to be taken seriously by other actors, and a trio of friends having trouble building their own path as individuals. The wackier ones include a stalker looking for love and a Disney adult wishing to go to Disneyland.

After the songs and banters, the show ends with cameo appearances from the cast of Thearapy: the Finale, who’s looking for their thearapist. As it turns out Jovita, the therapist for the Sequel show, is supposed to be the Finale’s thearapist instead. But as the cast for the Finale had made public disturbance, they’re ushered away and thrown into prison. This ending sets up the next (and supposedly final) installment, Thearapy: the Finale.

Compared to the relatively lighthearted Sequel, Thearapy: the Finale took on an edgier tone. The cast of the Finale is mostly composed of actors from the first two Thearapy shows with a few newcomers. Namely, the cast members are Afkar Malik, Ajeng Apriliasih, Amabel Odelia, Carissa Putridianty, Daniel Nathan, Haggai Pesakh Percival, Jane Elena, Josephine Angelica, Jovita Octa, Kamila Mardhiyyah, Kania Alisjahbana, Mayang Hardani, Mitch Hadju, Rai Putriansyah, Raymundus Leonardo, Robertus Darren Radyan, and Wenny Kumala Sari.

The story of Thearapy: the Finale mainly concerns itself with the incarcerated cast trying to deal with the mental burden of being locked up, while also professing their aspirations and other struggles through even more show tunes. As Act 2 rolls along, the desperate cast tries to find a way to get out, mostly through seducing the prison guards. But the ones to finally break them from prison are the cast members of the Sequel, bringing the story full circle.

Before they can make their escape, the guards catch on to what's happening and try  to stop them. In a twist of fate, the escapees learn that the guards were once theater kids too. They remind the guards of the joy of theater and break into one final song.

Thearapy: the Sequel and the Finale doesn’t reinvent the show’s formula, but brings it to the next level. First and foremost, having it in an actual theater really elevates the artistic design tenfold. Although the set still mostly consists of around a dozen chairs (with prison bars added to the Finale with great effect), the biggest improvement by far is the lighting design.

As Thearapy is a minimalist musical set-wise, the lighting adds much needed mood and variation to the numbers. And the lighting direction, just like the musical itself, is joyously playful. One moment that stood out was the opening number to Finale’s Act 2, ‘Rhythm of Life’, which started in total darkness before the cast of Sequel using handheld lights to cast their face in shadow as they sing, one by one, or in small groups. They then descend towards the stage before the number gets even wilder and psychedelic, hinting at this being a nightmare sequence. But even in less grandiose moments, the option of having a spotlight on the characters really gave the show more artistic focus and flourish.

Like the previous shows in the Thearapy series, both Sequel and Finale give each character – and, thus, performer – their moment to shine. First and foremost, it allows each actor’s unique talents and background to shine. Some of them might focus on their vocal prowess, others on their acting or even dancing. It’s Censtacom’s way of highlighting the variety and level of talent available in the Jakarta musical theater scene, and it’s something highly applaudable, especially for actors still in the early steps of their career.

However, the show makes even greater use of the group songs. Vocal-wise, the harmonies are much more intricate this time around, but executed with great finesse. The songs sounded great due to its rich, symphonious parts coming together beautifully. Having live instrumentation for most songs also made the show feel more special as it strengthens the live theater feel.

And the choreography took it one step further. Although most of the choreographed numbers aren't technically super complicated, the director and choreographers made great use in playing with the blocking and coordination of the great cast. It was really exciting looking forward to what the creatives would do next with the actors as their brushes and the stage as their canvas. Having a smaller stage alongside the decently big cast made the show feel truly grand at times.

The songs, as usual, are taken wholesale or adapted from existing musical theater songs. And, as per Censtacom’s usual modus operandi, they are not the most famous (or, indeed, overused) songs. Rather, they are taken from relatively more obscure musicals, or underused songs from famous musicals. This is a great way to be introduced to less popular showtunes while also making the shows feel more original.
 
While the musical numbers are definite highlights, there are also bits of story and dialogue in-between. There are some really funny moments and lines, but sometimes things can get a bit too frenetic and hard to understand, especially when multiple characters are talking at the same time. Usually, the shows have around a dozen people on stage, sitting in a line on chairs, and there are times where it takes a few seconds to even find which character is talking.

Furthermore, there were some unfortunate technical problems with the mic. Sometimes a performer’s mic would just not turn out and the production had to resort to giving them a wireless microphone. Though the stage management team was quick to rectify the problem, it was definitely still noticeable.

Some stand out performances include Albertus Raynaldi playing a demented stalker with a hilarious section where he crawls along the stage on all fours, Windy Liem as an acerbic woman who has a secret childlike dream, and Wenny Kumala Sari hilariously kooky depiction of an off-kilter inmate. 

But the most prominent character throughout both Sequel and Finale is, undoubtedly, Jovita the thearapist. As the one leading the sessions, she is a big part of both Sequel and Finale, and she accomplishes it masterfully, with an impressive vocal performance to boot. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a disconnect between her character between Sequel and Finale, due to the former part being originally written for another performer according to internal sources. On the other hand, it makes her performance doubly impressive, as she has to step up and learn the part on a short notice.

And overall, it’s just such a great joy watching the characters bounce off one another (sometimes literally). The different, and typically big, personalities make for great foils of one another. There are, admittedly, times where the dialogue feels a bit too sarcastic or negative for too long (due to many of the characters being troubled people), but it's still a fun time in general.

Thearapy: the Finale is said to be as the final installment in the series.

Although its claimed finality remains to be seen, Thearapy has been a unique and important addition to the Jakarta theater scene.

It’s a musical about performers, written by performers, for performers (and the public too). It puts its cast front and center with all their idiosyncrasies, allowing them to show off their best sides. It’s not afraid to introduce lesser known songs instead of the usual suspects of Disney, Les Mis, Dear Evan Hansen, or Hamilton. It’s clearly a labor of love and that gives it a unique and precious identity in the musical theater scene. Regardless of whether there will be another Thearapy or not, hopefully it has helped some performing artists feel both heard and healed.

Disclaimer: the writer of this article is affiliated with the production as a PR Manager.

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