Review: MUSIKAL ABSURD: Is Laughter Enough?

On September 4-5 2026, an original music titled MUSIKAL ABSURD: HIDUP SEGAN BUT I’M NOT DONE (“Absurd Musical: I Don’t Wanna Live But I’m Not Done”) was presented by Indonesia Kaya and Jakarta Doodle Fest at Galeri Ciputra Artpreneur. An earlier version of the show ran in Galeri Indonesia Kaya in November 2025.

This musical is inspired by the offbeat, comedic illustrations of local illustrator Sherchle, with direction by Aulion, script and lyrics by Palka Kojansow, and music by Ammir Gita. Andita Mardhiaputri served as the show’s choreographer and Clarissa Theopilia as the vocal coach.

MUSIKAL ABSURD opens with the show’s “mascot”, Sugeng (Uyo) welcoming the audience. Sugeng bears the face of a middle-aged man with a glorious mustache, yet his body is a red, rotund one inspired by the Teletubbies. From the very first scene, he’s bursting with a lighthearted, humorous energy that feels welcoming, like hanging out with an old friend. This is emblematic of the show’s overall direction: full of comedic audience interaction with practically no fourth wall.

Sugeng tells the audience about Vina Panduanidup (Made Aurellia), a corporate worker who’s been dealing with severe stress and burn out. Right after, Vina arrives after another long day at work, totally spent.

For the rest of the show, Sugeng – as Vina’s longtime imaginary friend – tries to cheer her up by summoning other imaginary friends and even Vina’s past self. This parade of misfits includes the money-obsessed Chibi Maruko Cuan (Medina Anzani), Christuna Aguilera (Ode Waode), H. Shinchan (Dewara Zaqqi), Si Paling Tahu (Nadhira Nasution), Wall 1 and Wall 2 (Ghatfaan Rifqi and Leyla Aderina), and Midwife (Janitra Diva). Then there’s Vina’s emo past self a.k.a. Emo Vina (Devina) and Vina’s school counselor a.k.a. Om Botak (Andre Panaga).

But not everyone is imaginary; there’s also Vina’s brusque mother (Pila), who can’t quite understand Vina’s sulky demeanor but tries to cheer her up just the same. By the end of the play, Vina resolves to keep marching on despite life's hardships.

MUSIKAL ABSURD is a very different show to other musicals. Its ‘source material’ being Sherchle’s unique illustrations means that everything else is a blank canvas for the show’s creatives to paint on. And they chose to make MUSIKAL ABSURD a comedy show first and foremost.

While there is a framing device of sorts, MUSIKAL ABSURD’s bread and butter are the comedy skits; these are clearly defined segments with one major idea (Vina’s money-making elementary school self, Vina trying to order food, etc.), spotlighting one particular supporting character, and perhaps featuring one musical number.

And, as a comedy show, MUSIKAL ABSURD largely succeeds. The humor is unmistakably Indonesian, with an urbanite, modern bent to it. It also pokes fun at recent events, even some political ones, giving it a slight bite.

Each character has a strong, larger-than-life personality, brought to life by the dedicated cast of performers. Many of them also improvised beyond the show’s script or interacted with the audience members, earning raucorous laughs and massive applause. Even though most of the cast is best known for their musical theater work, they’ve proven that they’ve got comedic chops as well.

Some stand out moments include Chibi Maruko Cuan’s wig getting thrown off unexpectedly and getting audience members to help her put it back on, Emo Vina stealing the scenes with few words yet impeccable physical comedy, and Vina’s mom’s sparkly disco number, courtesy of an instantly iconic mirror-ball-helmet.

However, the merriment comes to a screeching halt whenever we check back on Vina. Not due to any shortcoming on the actress’s part, but rather how the role is written.

Despite the best efforts of the imaginary friends, she always withdraws into a sour mood until right before the end, creating a predictable and monotonous experience. This not only brings down the mood, but it can even make us doubt that the previous scene was meant to be funny; after all, if Vina so easily and consistently disregards their attempt to cheer her up, are we not meant to find them funny?

Even though the show only runs for a little more than an hour, a simple yet more substantial character arc for Vina would be appreciated. As it currently stands, her final resolution feels like it came out of nowhere, despite the previous skits providing ample justification for a more gradual realization.

There’s also untapped potential in the show’s very premise. Historically, absurdism is a philosophical and artistic school of thought that seeks to confront the rigid structure of society. It can be a powerful tool in lampooning readily-accepted norms. However, in MUSIKAL ABSURD, the absurdity only serves as a spectacle that’s separated from the main character’s source of frustrations (i.e. her job). And, as mentioned, she never fully embraces the absurdity, but rather treats it as annoyance.

Despite Vina’s problems being largely relatable, this lack of a deeper interaction between the absurd happenings and Vina’s perspective makes the conclusion feel lukewarm. She resolves to keep on going in a generic and vague way; the absurdity barely played into it – she could’ve just watched a motivational video, listened to a religious sermon, or dined on good food. It’s a shame that the show didn’t bring about the full potential of absurdism in facing today’s problems.

Another minor nitpick is the character of Christuna Aguilera. Although Ode Waode’s playful vocal moments are brilliant, there’s no further exploration of the character’s piscine characteristics; it’s simply a pun that’s caught and released in the blink of an eye.

The musical numbers are fine and definitely entertaining, although mostly used as additional spectacle instead of helping progress the story. In this way, MUSIKAL ABSURD almost feels like a throwback to older forms of theater with music, where the musical numbers are inconsequential to the character’s journey.

Thankfully, due to the stellar performance all-around, the show was still enjoyable most of the time. The artistic direction also helped, with quirky DIY set pieces and props, exaggerated costumes (including a giant block of tofu), and colorful – if limited in its scope – lighting.

The intimate setting of the venue – with seating on three sides of the play area – also helped in making the show feel lively and personal. It gave the performers easy access to the audience, a well-utilized storytelling tool in this show in particular.

At the end of the day, if MUSIKAL ABSURD simply seeks to entertain the audience, it’s one of the most successful in recent memory; the audience loved the full-hearted performances by a cast of actors who understood the assignment, supported by an appropriately eccentric art design. But after the spectacle is done, it might not stick with the audience due to a relatively shallow exploration of absurdity.

Still, in this day and age, perhaps an hour of break from reality might be just what we need to keep going on for another day.

 

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