Musical Theatre 'Mar' Presents Special Performance for Indonesian War Veterans

Fri, 15 May 2026, 13:21 WIB | By indrastuti | Source: MEDIA_INDONESIA | Culture

The musical theatre ‘Mar’, produced by Artswara, held a special performance on Thursday, May 14th, at Ciputra Artpreneur Jakarta. The performance was attended by dozens of war veterans from the Indonesian Veterans Legion, as well as a number of special guests.

The actors and actresses from the ‘Mar’ musical theatre cast delivered a spectacular performance on the night of the special show. The war veterans appeared very enthusiastic throughout the performance, carefully watching the excellent acting of Gabriel Harvianto and Galabby, who played the characters of Mar and Aryati, along with the other characters.

“This is the premiere of our ‘Mar’ musical, and we happened to invite veterans from the TNI to attend. We invited them because ‘Mar’ tells the story of the nation’s struggle in the years 1946-1949, and we really want these veterans to see how young people appreciate what they did at that time,” said Executive Producer Maera Panigoro, after the ‘Mar’ performance on Thursday evening, May 14th.

‘Mar’ tells a story about love, sacrifice, and resilience set against the backdrop of one of the darkest moments in Indonesian history, namely the Bandung Lautan Api tragedy. The story is told through the lives of Mar and Aryati, and a series of musical works by Ismail Marzuki provide the musical backdrop.

Lasting about 3 hours, the ‘Mar’ performance successfully transformed the Ciputra Artpreneur stage into Bandung in 1946. Dramatic lighting, visual projections of the Bandung Lautan Api event, and authentic decorations created an atmosphere of a turbulent city that still contained elements of romance from the love story of Mar and Aryati.

Not only was the stage design impressive, but the performance was also made even more perfect by the combination of beautiful choreography designed by Hamada Abdool and Ismail Marzuki’s music, which was reinterpreted with a cheerful and dynamic jazz influence, reminiscent of the Glenn Miller era. Other supporting actors such as Tanta Ginting, Teza Sumendra, and Sita Nursanti also contributed to the performance.

In addition to showing appreciation to the veterans, Maera also stated that the ‘Mar’ performance is expected to be a platform for educating young people about the struggles of the nation’s heroes after independence. With the hope that this great history can continue to be preserved.

“This is also our effort to further introduce the story of Bandung Lautan Api to young people. I don’t know what history lessons are like in schools now, but when I was in school, there was a subject about the history of the nation’s struggle, and we knew all the wars that took place in Indonesia from 1945. I don’t know if that’s still the case now,” explained Maera.

Therefore, with the ‘Mar’ performance, Artswara can show that in 1946 there was a major war in South Bandung. “Hopefully, by watching the ‘Mar’ musical, more young people will know that there was an event called Bandung Lautan Api,” she said.

The ‘Mar’ musical theatre performance will be open to the public from May 15-17, 2026, at the Ciputra Artpreneur Theatre, Kuningan, Jakarta. For those who are interested in watching the performance, tickets can be ordered at prices ranging from Rp500,000 to Rp150,000. (H-2)

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