Review: The Spirit of Collective in HJP & Artpreneur’s SCHOOL OF ROCK

Review by Nabila “Hana” Hananti, editing by Rakaputra Paputungan

On July 26 to 27th of 2025, Hi Jakarta Production in collaboration with Ciputra Artpreneur hosted their re-run of School of Rock the Musical. This would be their second time hosting this show after last year’s performance. The show is based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black.

As per last year, this show was directed by Sonia Suki with the assistance of Rika Keniatun. Maruf Andi acted as head of vocals with Jordy Alexander as the Music Director. This show was produced by Riri Kumalasari as the executive producer, Rakaputra Paputungan as producer, and Elvina as co-producer.

We, the team from Broadway World ID, had the opportunity to watch their first show on the afternoon of July 26th, and here’s our review. 

***

In general, the narrative of the play itself moved quite slowly. It brings the same storyline as the movie School of Rock, albeit with some creative liberty taken in courtesy of it being a stage adaptation. 

It follows the story of Dewey, a struggling rocker, who decides to impersonate his roommate, Ned, to become a substitute teacher at the elite school Horace Green in order to pay his rent. During the course of the story, Dewey struggles with the fact that he actually is expected to teach–until he figures out the musical talent that his students have and decides to create a band named “School of Rock” with the students. Through this band, he bonds with the students and eventually wins the Battle of the Bands with them. 

While the story is quite straightforward, there wasn’t much suspense during the build up towards the climax. Instead, we are presented with an ensemble of characters that we either love, hate, or love to hate. And these actors put their all into these characters. The connection and the ensemble energy that HJP wanted to deliver was received, and it led to a work with a strong collective energy. 

Every character was memorable in their own way. Starting with the lead character, Dewey. Bran Vargas carried the show with his frantic yet strong presence, making us believe in his energy as a conman. However, in his dedication to portraying Dewey’s manic personality, articulation was often a secondary concern, making for a messy performance. It got me relying on the caption and/or translation that was on the side of the stage for me to understand the storyline, leaving a lot of the comprehension to the imagination. Still, seeing Dewey as the messed-up adult dragging these students along at his whim was entertaining. 

Xavier El Masrur gave a strong performance as Ned, Dewey’s meek and bookish roommate. His intent and articulation stood out amongst his peers, but his presence seemed to disappear in his every scene with Dewey. Bran Vargas’ presence on his own was already overwhelming, but, in his effort to give Dewey the spotlight, Ned had instead faded into the background. This contrasted the balance he gave when he played against his on-stage girlfriend, Patty (played by Priscilla Danika). Patty was sharp and Ned was weak against her, and yet we could understand both characters’ motives for their actions.

Bernice Nikki played Rosalie in an almost “effortless” way. Her vocals were extraordinary. Yet, surprisingly, her performance didn’t overpower the other characters in the play. Even in the scenes where she was unleashing her inner feelings—her interest in rock music. She was perfectly collected while showcasing the strong poise she possessed.

And as a whole, the ensemble of School of Rock the Musical was a marvelous collective. The synchronization was worth applauding, showing the capable directorial hands in uniting the different minds in the play. Especially the kids: they all had characters of their own, and yet they harmonized in their differences.

Watching this show was an entertaining experience. I could feel the collective spirit burning in the hearts of the team behind School of Rock Re-Run, and I hope to see that again in future productions.

Broadwayworld Indonesia is a media partner of School of Rock 2025. Rakaputra Paputungan is a producer of the show.