A Dance Through Life
The rise and growth of one of Jakarta’s Broadway and musical theatre communities.
Benedict Giankana R. S. for LC Life
LE CITOYEN — The lights of the hall began to dim, the stage covered in pitch darkness. Out of the corner, the orchestra began playing the overture, and the audience watched in silence. As it came to an end, a woman, accompanied by several dancers, walked on stage, the lights turning on as she went. The crowd roared in excitement as the first verses of Don’t Rain on My Parade, from the musical Funny Girl, came out of her mouth, the dancers twirling and twisting about.
Above was the opening of Jaksical’s 2nd Anniversary Concert, Journey Through Time 2: The Story Unfolds, which was held on Sunday, September 23rd, 2018. The concert was held at the Catholic University of Atma Jaya, in Jakarta, starting at 19.00 sharp and ended at about 21.30 that night. The performers came from various backgrounds yet united by the same passion they have, Broadway musicals. The concert consisted of 20 songs, some of which had dancers on stage and accompaniment from an orchestra. Each song performed had a different story to tell of origins just as various as the performers’ background. The diversity itself is the concept of the concert, having songs from various Broadway musicals as it evolved from some of the earliest recorded musicals, such as Funny Girl, up until Frozen, which is one of the most recent musicals, hence the name– Journey Through Time.
What we know as ‘Broadway’ itself was born in early 19th Century, when the restructuring of New York City to its current grid system began. The streets from 41st to 53rd was commonly known as the Theater District, and theater itself in America would change. Iconic theaters in the district, such as The Astor Opera House and The Metropolitan Theater were the embodiment of class, culture, and art in the city.[1] Broadway musicals as we know today actually began in 1943, with the Broadway premiere of Oklahoma! which was one of the first musical plays and a true example of musical theatre. Before that, the form of musicals performed were merely musical comedies, and only partly musical.[2] With the birth of Broadway came a new form of arts, which compiled acting, singing, dancing, and music into one stage through the performance of musicals. Oklahoma! became the catalyst that started the evolution of musicals to what we know in the present, spread worldwide and even reaching Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta.
One of Jakarta’s Broadway and musical theatre communities, Jakarta Musical Crew, or Jaksical for short, was formed in 2016 by Michelle Oswari alongside nine other board members, with the aim of introducing and raising awareness about Broadway and musical theatre itself to young adults and also assist in fulfilling the needs of musical enthusiasts regarding information about musical theatre. Michelle Oswari saw there was a lack of communities that support performing arts in Jakarta, and thus Jaksical was formed to fill the gap that existed. Jaksical’s vision and mission were based on the status quo in Jakarta. Its vision is to become one Jakarta’s leading communities for Broadway and musical enthusiasts, and to reach that vision, Jaksical’s mission moves to give education and awareness about Broadway musicals and musical theatre to the citizens of Jakarta.[3] Currently, Jaksical continues to grow not only as a single community, but together with other communities, connecting with one another, and striving together for the betterment of performing arts in Indonesia.
Over the past 2 years, Jaksical has hosted various events in the effort to achieve their vision. These events ranged from simple movie nights to musical workshops, media partnerships, and even concerts. Through the hosting of these events, Jaksical both expanded and grew in active members, partner communities, and popularity among musical enthusiasts in Jakarta.
In 2016, Jaksical hosted multiple movie nights that gathered theater enthusiasts, or thespians, in which they watched and then discussed said movies.[4] They hosted public screenings of Rent, a musical that tells the story of young artists struggling in New York, living under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Another screening was a recorded onstage performance of Miss Saigon, which is a musical set in the height of the Vietnam War, which tells the tragic story of an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover. The third screening presented West Side Story, a modern retelling of the classing Romeo and Juliet love story. Jaksical also hosted internal screenings, which showed Miss Saigon and also Newsies, a musical based on the 1992 movie musical of the same name, a musical based on the newsboys’ strike of 1899 in New York.
In the following year, Jaksical began working as a media partner for other similar communities. They helped promote productions from said communities via their social media platforms, and also wrote reviews of those performances. Jaksical also hosted their first anniversary concert, Journey Through Time. The concert was held on the 23rd of September 2017, at @America in Pacific Place, Jakarta. Journey Through Time’s songlist consisted of showtunes from popular musicals such as Phantom of The Opera, Miss Saigon, The Book of Mormon, and many more. The concert was attended by 500 people, out of the 300 expected.[5]
This year, in 2018, Jaksical continue its work as a media partner for other communities, and promoted musical productions by several schools, and actually took part in coaching and preparing one of the schools. They also hosted a trip to Singapore in early July, to go together with other fellow Indonesian thespians and see The Lion King in Marina Bay Sands. After that, they hosted a musical workshop which was open for public, in which the participants learned to act, sing, and dance to one of Hairspray’s showtunes, Nicest Kids in Town. The participants were coached by Jaksical members who were experienced in both vocal coaching, acting, and choreography. Jaksical then hosted Jaksical Unplugged 2.0 and Gala Dinner as a pre-event to Journey Through Time 2: The Story Unfolds, to promote the event and raise funds. In September then they held the concert itself, which was previously described.
Jaksical’s next upcoming project is in collaboration with @America, which is a US cultural center under the US Embassy, and also the venue in which they held Journey Through Time. The event, which will be held on the 27th of October 2018, will be a Halloween-themed musical fair, and it will be free of charge. Other projects are still in the works, and will be announced through their social media platforms, whether it be via Instagram on @Jaksical, or their official website, www.jaksical.com.
Through the perspective of both a performer and a theatre enthusiast, Jaksical stands as one of the leading Broadway communities in Jakarta (obviously, their vision reached out to me me!). The amount of dedication and passion each member has is astounding. Each performance is filled with such fire, that as part of the audience, you could feel the emotions they were portraying on stage. Their performances never disappoint because of how they perform with heart and soul. — Surely, seeing their events and performances live is an unforgettable experience. To attend such a show brought to life is something I would personally recommend not only for thespians, but also to anyone who would love to feel the sensation and life of Broadway itself.
[1]. Levi, “History of Broadway Musicals,” https://www.joytunes.com/blog/music-fun/history-broadway-musicals/, accessed 8th September 2018.
[2]. Dominic Shellard, “Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater,” https://www.timeshighereducation.com/books/showtime-a-history-of-the-broadway-musical-theater/414139.article, accessed 8th September 2018.
[3]. Jaksical, “About Us,” http://jaksical.com/web/about/, accessed 10th September 2018.
[4]. Ibid.
[5]. Ibid.
