ArtSwara Confirms MAR Musical Re-Run at Ciputra Artpreneur in May

The musical stage production MAR, presented by ArtSwara and first staged in February 2025, is set to return this year. For theatergoers who missed the drama exploring another side of the Bandung Lautan Api episode, the show will be staged again in May.

The re-run was confirmed by ArtSwara executive producer Maera Panigoro.

“We feel MAR is not finished yet. God willing, MAR will be staged again by popular demand,” she said in Senopati, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (Feb. 4, 2026).

Panigoro added that, coincidentally, the MAR musical album won trophies at the AMI Awards in the categories of Best Musical Album and Best Vocal Arrangement.

“Based on those considerations, the MAR re-run is fixed and will definitely be held for three days with a total of five performances from May 15 to 17, at the same venue, Ciputra Artpreneur,” she said.

The principal cast are also confirmed to return to the stage. During last year’s run, more than 40 songs by Ismail Marzuki were adapted for the musical, introducing the characters Mar (played by Gabriel Harvianto) and Aryati (played by Galabby Thahira).

Harvianto, who has been active in Indonesia’s musical theater scene since appearing in Laskar Pelangi in 2010 and later working as a vocal director, was ultimately tapped to portray Mar.

Over nearly three hours, audiences are treated to an unconventional narrative. The show opens with a scene of Nin (Aryati in her later years) talking with Mara (her grandchild) about her first encounter with Aki (Marzuki).

The story then shifts into flashback. Set against the backdrop of the 1946 Bandung Lautan Api event, the couple’s relationship unfolds through twists and turns. Musical MAR director Wawan Sofwan said that while dissecting the script written by Titien Wattimena, he identified three points grounded in historical facts from the period.

“The first point is the nurse at the hospital, the second is Ambu’s food stall, and the third is the barracks or soldiers’ dormitory. The hospital is close to the barracks, which is now known as Immanuel Hospital. The barracks were in the Tegalega area, and the distance to Immanuel Hospital is only about one kilometer. I figure Ambu’s stall was behind the hospital,” Wawan said after a final rehearsal of MAR at the Ciputra Artpreneur Theatre on Wednesday (Feb. 26, 2025).

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