REVIEW: The Revolving Beauty of MAR’s Re-Run
On 15–17 May, ArtSwara brought the re-run of their 13th production, MAR, back to the stage of Ciputra Artpreneur.
Review by Zahira, editing by Rakaputra Paputungan.
On 15–17 May, ArtSwara brought the re-run of their 13th production, MAR, back to the stage of Ciputra Artpreneur. Written by Titien Wattimena, this time MAR is directed by Maera Panigoro, co-directed by Rusmedie Agus, and produced by Rr Firsty Dewi with Maera Panigoro as executive producer. This musical tribute to Ismail Marzuki also featured artistic direction by Iskandar Loedin, choreography by Hamada Abdool, and music direction by Ava Victoria. While the core narrative remains a classic romance set against the backdrop of the 1946 Bandung Sea of Fire tragedy, this iteration offered a different presentation to last year's original, shown through artistic choices and a remarkably compelling performance by its understudy leads.
The team from BroadwayWorld Indonesia attended the afternoon performance on May 17th, which featured the understudy cast, and here’s our review!
Starting with the visuals, changing the previous set into a turntable stage was an absolute delight! It transforms the space into a living diorama that feels reminiscent of a vintage miniature collection, or like an antique snow globe. This new design brought a charming, nostalgic, and storybook intimacy to the world of Bandung, making every scene feel like a preserved memory brought to life right in front of us. I loved the dramatically exaggerated proportions between the actors and the setting. It gave the audience a unique perspective, it felt like we were literally looking into Aryati’s delicate, cherished story from her past.
One thing I am also in awe of were the costumes. A special mention has to go to the wardrobe department (Retno Damayanti), the clothes looked very lived-in and worn, the soldiers’ uniform hit the perfect spot of being neatly ironed yet weathered. The skirt Aryati wore was a beautiful circular skirt that flows amazingly when she dances. It's a stunning and convincingly accurate period silhouette.
However, this compact stage design came with its trade-offs. Because the production switched to a smaller, revolving circular stage this year, the main actors had a lot less room to move around. Last year, they could use the entire stage. This time, they were stuck using only a tiny fraction of it—roughly one-sixth of the total space. The actors couldn't do big, sweeping dance moves or travel across the stage smoothly. Their movements had to be held back and kept small so they wouldn't run out of room. Because the space was so tight and elevated, it looked like the performers were dancing right on the edge. Watching them move around in such a cramped spot made the audience feel nervous. I was concerned that Aryati might accidentally misstep during her dance numbers.
Furthermore, where last year's set rotations and choreography integrated seamlessly, this scaled-down turntable disrupted the production's natural rhythm. Mechanical transitions felt clunkier, scene entrances lacked their former smoothness, and the instrumental cueing occasionally drifted off-balance.
As for the music, it is stunning as usual. Ismail Marzuki’s timeless compositions were brought to life with incredible warmth and richness. My favourite highlights still remains of: “Sepasang Mata Bola,” “Rindu Lukisan” and of course, the stunning “Kopral Jono” and “Sersan Mayorku,” where each instrument created an unforgettable, furious wave and my heart was also drumming to the beat of the songs.
Adding to these incredibly detailed music points, the performance itself was delivered very well, largely driven by the understudies taking on the lead roles. Dania Najmi as Aryati and Taufan Pusbo as Mar were immersed in their characters, they brought a new and fresh take to the central romance but still felt so convincing it took me nearly forty minutes to realize that these were the understudies. I really like Taufan Purbo’s way of portraying Mar, grounded and captivating. He brought this soft, classic sort of masculinity to the role, just genuinely gentle and respectful in every way.
The ensemble brought incredible energy to every single number, backing the show with a spirited and solid presence. Their tidy choreography brought a lively sharpness to the group scenes, ensuring that the collective numbers always hit their mark with precision. Standing out brilliantly among the cast was Ningrum (Witrie Diana), her vocals were captivating and heavenly and I felt ascended hearing her sing.
On the other hand, there were certain character tweaks that I enjoyed less. The character of Neneng (Made Aurellia) underwent a stylistic shift away from her original charming, innocent village-girl demeanor (previously defined by a simple ponytail) to a flanderization. This choice ultimately flattened her original appeal, shifting her dynamic closer to some sort of a “pick-me” instead of the grounded local figure who previously stole scenes with her Sundanese dialogue. It feels like she’s an oversimplified, exaggerated version of the previous Neneng. Having really enjoyed her performance in the previous run, I kind of missed the original charm of her character, as this rework felt like a step backward. Nevertheless, Neneng still managed to capture the audience’s laughs. Her comedic behaviour all landed on the perfect beat and it clearly resonated great with the crowd, it was genuinely fun to watch how she pulled it off.
Even though the new stage mechanics sacrificed some of my favourite parts of MAR, such as the fluid choreography of the original production, MAR remained a deeply emotional and spellbinding experience. This re-run demonstrated both the incredible talent of its alternate cast and also ArtSwara’s willingness to experiment with their staging.
Broadwayworld Indonesia was a media partner of MAR Re-Run
