'Ketoprak Humor' sets the stage for laughs on television screens
'Ketoprak Humor' sets the stage for laughs on television screens
JAKARTA (JP): "She" sashays across the stage, making pointed
over-the-shoulder glances, a simpering femme fatale from tales of
old.
There are plenty of hoots and whistles, derision for the
woman's coy smile and smeared-on lipstick. It is none other than
Tessie, the gender-bending star of Ketoprak Humor (RCTI, 9:30
p.m., Saturdays). Neither Arthur nor Martha, Tessie's androgyny
allows him to skirt the comic line between bawdy humor and
vulgarity.
Drawing on Javanese tales and myths, the shows are the
traditional vaudevillian theater of srimulat brought to the
modern medium of television. They weave comic storylines which
marry tradition with the world of Indonesia today, including the
ups-and-downs in the lives of the performers from the Samiaji
Arts Association Foundation.
Last week's show told of a husband (Topan) bickering with his
wife (Meisye Arsita) about her inadequacies on the household
front. She attempts to placate him by giving him something to
eat, but he sets the food down behind him because it is too hot.
A passing scoundrel (Lysus) replaces it with a brick, much to the
husband's consternation, and the husband and wife trade insults
in a verbal ping-pong match.
She makes another attempt to win him over by handing him a cup
of coffee. Once again, he puts the offering behind him but he
starts to suspect that someone may be playing tricks on him. With
much ado, he places a mirror in front of him so he can see what
is going on behind.
Celebrity gossip-savvy viewers know the underlying poignancy
of one of the exchanges between the husband and wife. When Topan
tells Meisye that he would never leave her despite her
deficiencies, it cuts close to the bone; Meisye's real-life
husband dumped her for another woman.
The show features the group's mainstays -- Tarzan, Nunung,
Polo, Timbul, Eko, Yohana, Tessie, Topan and Lysus -- and each
has his or her specific stage characteristics.
Tarzan's height and baritone voice lend themselves equally
well to playing a Dutch commander of old or a Javanese king.
Pouting, put-upon Nunung has the repartee and comebacks to spar
with the best of them. Timbul is the group's Puck, an impish
figure stirring the pot of mischief and innuendo. And then there
is Tessie, taking the rain of abuse and indignities with long-
suffering resignation.
The established team has been rounded out by the guest
appearances of stars from Indonesian soap operas. They include
Maudy Koesnadi, Dedy Yusuf, Donny Kusuma (the actor-model best
known for the Extra Joss commercials), Anjasmara and his wife,
Dian Nitami and even magician Deddy Corbuzier.
Some of the new crop of stars can go with the flow of the
improvised storylines, but others fumble their way through their
appearances.
"For srimulat, the actors need to be able to play off each
other for the show to work," said Mulki, a chicken vendor and a
fan of the program. "Some of the stars can do it, like Dian
Nitami, and she is not even Javanese, but others are just there
for the exposure. I mean, what is Deddy Corbuzier doing on the
show? He's awful."
Since its debut in 1998, Ketoprak Humor has gained a wide
following (the frequent commercial breaks is an obvious, and
irritating, sign of this success). The actors, too, have become
household names, but now are making headlines for less desirable
reasons following the arrest of Doyok and Polo on drug charges.
A grounding in Indonesian is necessary for foreign viewers if
they want to follow the storylines, but it also helps to have
along a citizen of this land, particularly someone from Java, to
help explain the nuances of the various high jinks. When the
action heats up, the actors frequently slip into their native
Javanese; while the Indonesian-language subtitles are a help,
it's much better to have the tale explained by someone in the
know.