London School Teatro, entertaining and amusing

Tari Danawidjaja, Contributor, Jakarta

Teatro London School, the theater group of Jakarta's London School of Public Relations, may be one of the most active student theater groups in the country.

The group, which began in 1999, has brought to the stage several classic plays and musicals, such as Cinderella and Aida.

During their latest performance at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 this year, the group brought to life the award-winning musical Chicago.

Featuring a cast and crew of over 40 students, the two-hour musical was fascinating.

The main players, Evelinn Kurniadi (who played Roxie Hart), Emmy Nurmila (Velma Kelly), Enrico Tanod (Billy Flyin) and Davina Rajendra (Mama Morton), were entertaining enough to maintain the attention of the audience throughout.

Emmy has a good voice and some acting talent. When she entered the stage, together with some dancers, during the show's opening she sang like a diva.

The innocent-looking Evelinn also did a good job playing the witty Roxie Hart.

The dancers and supporting cast members were amazing. One of the best scenes of the show was the media conference given by Roxie and her lawyer Billy, which involved many of the dancers and supporting cast members.

Miss Indonesia 2005 Nadine Chandrawinata, who is a student of the college, said she had a great time at the show.

"It's awesome. I have never seen any of Teatro's shows before. They're actually good," she said.

Everything seemed perfect, yet Reza Bustami, one of the directors, recalled that the production process for the show was far from easy.

One of the main problems the directors faced during preparations was working the rehearsals around the students' school schedules. There were several cast changes, as well as changes of directors, ahead of the show.

We can only hope Teatro's production next year -- Miss Saigon -- will be just as entertaining.