Review: Jakarta Movin’s MUSIKAL PETUALANGAN SHERINA: Joyfully Contagious

Jakarta Movin had their breakthrough hit in 2017 with Musikal Petualangan Sherina. It ran multiple times afterwards since then in 2018 & 2022, and had its fourth run in 2025.

While Petualangan Sherina is a very well-known IP in Indonesia, I hold no nostalgia for this story. I’ve heard some of the songs, but most of them only in passing. I only know there are Sherina, Sadam, and an adventure of some sort – but I have no prior knowledge of what it is about. This 2025 run would be my first time watching this musical.

Jakarta Movin hosted their fourth run of Musikal Petualangan Sherina from 11th to 20th of July 2025 at Graha Bhakti Budaya. An adaptation of the movie Petualangan Sherina by Miles Films. This show was produced and directed by Nuya Susantono, founder of Jakarta Movin. The team from Broadway World Indonesia had the opportunity to watch its media preview on July 10th 2025.

The preview I watched on July 10th was unfortunately not a full-showing of the show because of technical difficulties. They only brought the 1st Act and the ending of the 2nd. All and all, it was mostly a show with plenty of technical interferences, such as shaky multimedia projection, lack of front lights and spotlights, and unbalanced mixing. The show too started an hour late.

Still, despite the technical problems, the team pulled through the media preview. The cast’s energy was contagious. They were all working with what they could whilst having a lot of fun, and seeing that made me happy to be there. There also were standout moments that controlled the crowd, such as the strange entrance of Zus Natasha (played by Rahmania Astrini) that provoked laughter.

Perhaps the one thing I could comment on is the execution of the story. Either because they were staying faithful to the source material, but the story felt fast yet static. Starting from the beginning when Sherina received the news that they were going to move to Bandung. I wasn’t moved by her disappointment. I simply thought as “oh, life happened” instead of a tension-filled moment in her life. The changes happened very drastically and we’re supposed to just go with the flow of it happening.

Despite the confused narrative delivery, the show was an ear-pleaser – particularly the wonderful vocals of Bu Darmawan (played by Nisa Haryanti) and Pak Ardiwilaga (played by Arsy Fadillah). Their voices were simply incredible to listen to.

Although the media preview was, unfortunately, marred by a bevy of technical problems, I trust that the veteran team at Jakarta Movin was able successfully pull off the rest of the run. As Indonesian musicals still rarely have reruns and revivals, Musikal Petualangan Sherina’s continued success speaks to not only the timelessness of its story, the quality of the production, and the importance to preserve our theatrical history – not by treating them as one-off spectacles, but as living and growing cultural works.

Broadwayworld Indonesia is a media partner of Musikal Petualangan Sherina 2025.