Review: Yasmara & OMG Entertainment’s Grease: An Old Classic Comes to Jakarta

Review by Nabila ‘Hana’ Hananti, co-writing and editing by Rakaputra Paputungan

Grease was first staged in 1971, with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. It had its debut on Broadway in 1972 until it was eventually adapted into a movie starring John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John in 1978. This play and its consequent movie were a cultural icon, with songs that persist through time and are deeply rooted in modern pop culture. And for the first time, in 2025, it was performed in Jakarta, Indonesia.

On 15-16th February 2025, OMG Entertainment in collaboration with Yasmara brought Grease the Musical to the stage of Teater Besar, Taman Ismail Marzuki. This show was produced by Yasmin Alvina, directed by Alexander Damara, and has Sheila Gianetti as its choreographer. The team from Broadway World Indonesia was given the opportunity to watch their last show on February 16th, and here’s our review.

Grease tells the story of “greasers”—a 1950s United States youth-based subculture, most notably characterized by greased-back hairstyles for men, and volumized backcombed hair for women. Greasers were also heavily associated with rock n’ roll, for there was an association at the time between rock music and juvenile delinquency.

The play Grease focused on Danny Zuko (played by Gusty Pratama). He was a greaser himself with his own gang (the Burger Palace Boys in this version, the T-birds in the movie). Just last summer, he had a short relationship with Sandy Dumbrowski (played by Rahmania Astrini). Sandy herself was the typical ingénue—sweet and naive. Although they thought they wouldn’t meet again after their fling, apparently, Danny and Sandy went to the same school Rydell High, and they were at the beginning of their senior year.

The interaction didn’t go smoothly, however, for social norms were their worst enemy. Danny—out of shame—denied having such a “sweet girl” as his love interest, much to Sandy’s dismay. Thus, from then till the end of the show, a dynamic was built between Danny and his greaser gang who picked on him for doing stupid things because he liked her. Sandy did so too—for she attempted to change herself with the help of her female peers but was too sheltered to be able to fit the social norm. They were both students who were trying to know themselves, and thus, Grease solidified itself as a story of growth.

By the end of the story, Sandy decides she will change herself and shows up as a “greaser’s fantasy”—turning into a greaser herself, and Danny—no longer ashamed—returns his feelings. Thus, the two got together and became friends with one another. 

By modern standards, the story of Grease is considerably simple. Besides the well-known tunes, the story is a basic romance between a boy and a girl. In today’s art scene that has embraced more progressive ideas, it can come across as antiquated. Since Grease is a licensed play, there isn’t much that the Production Team could do to its outdated values and themes—perhaps it is best to appreciate by keeping in mind that it was originally written in 1971, more than 50 years ago.

OMG Entertainment and Yasmara chose to preserve Grease close to the way it was written. This means almost every aspect of the show, such as the artistic design (specifically, the set), the choreography, and down to the minute decision of the characters’ blocking, are familiar to longtime fans. 

Being performed on such a large stage presented an opportunity to utilize the open stage in interesting ways. However, the staging still felt crowded at times — especially with the large amount of cast on stage at the same time during the group scenes. This is not too big of a problem during songs, since the ensemble can help bring out more energy. But for scenes focusing on dialogue, the focus could have been clearer, to highlight the main characters and help the audience follow the story more easily.

Additionally, the show had a total set change each time the story took us to another location – from the high school canteen, to the bleachers, a bedroom, and more. This commitment is interesting in creating a more vivid portrayal of the physical locations. But unfortunately the transition time was often a bit too long. 

The choreography was largely fine and pleasant enough to watch, but it could have utilized the stage more. Most of the time, the choreography consisted of the ensemble dancing in a simple formation. There was certainly a sense of synergy in the dancing (for the most part), only needing more power from the cast  to really bring it to the next level.

There were two standout numbers in the show: “Greased Lightning” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You”. “Greased Lightning” was a burst of energy I didn’t expect amidst the show’s runtime, owing largely to the spirited ensemble. It brought my hope up for the second act; thankfully it paid off, for “Hopelessly Devoted to You” by Rahmania Astrini was a gorgeous rendition. The stage was brought to life with a mid-show concert by her. 

OMG Entertainment and Yasmara’s Grease had incredible actors and actresses on their roster. Their body language was succinct, being able to convey plenty in just a few simple movements; with the choreography, the cast brought forth their best with their movement; and almost everyone was a solid part of the choir.

However, the dialogue delivery has room for improvement. Grease is a pretty wordy musical that requires good comedic or dramatic timing to really bring out its potential. Some cast members, like Rizzo as played by Ariella Hamid, had a dynamite attitude to her with sharp line deliveries that made the Pink Ladies scenes more enjoyable. But the delivery was still uneven – some of the cast members could have taken more time and focus to make their dialogues clearer and their reactions more natural. There were also some problems with audio interferences or audio mixing, causing the audience to not be able to hear the songs properly – which is a shame, because the cast sounded the best when they’re singing.

The stand out aspect of the production was the aesthetic they’ve chosen. You can’t go wrong with the 50s and bringing Grease with their iconic looks to life. The wardrobe & makeup team—led by Vania Theola—made smart use of colours to seamlessly blend 1950’s fashion into the play. The costumes for the more extravagant numbers looked especially great and memorable, like Marty’s sparkly red dress.

Working with a licensed musical as iconic as Grease means that the audience expects the same script, songs, and overall artistic design that they love. It’s the job, and the privilege, of a director to unite the familiar aspects of the play while making their own creative choices. While Grease in Jakarta was an adequate performance throughout, it needs a more solid core to unite the whole show.  This take on Grease is perhaps playing it a bit too safe.

It’s great that fans of Grease can watch the iconic numbers live on stage in Jakarta for the first time. Although there are several things that can be improved, all the iconic numbers are there for the audience to  enjoy, thanks to the tremendous effort from the show’s many cast and crew members. But for an older, well-known show, perhaps Grease needs a fresh coat of paint and a jolt of energy to make it truly come alive, just like the systematic and hydromatic Greased Lightning itself. 

Broadwayworld Indonesia is a media partner of Grease the Musical by OMG Entertainment & Yasmara. Some edits have been made after discussions with the show's representative.

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