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Giving Indonesians their first opportunity to see an authentic Broadway production at home, the Ivan Jacobs version of “The Phantom of the Opera” opened to Jakarta audiences last week at the Nusa Indah Theater at Balai Kartini, South Jakarta.

Brought to Indonesia by Big Daddy Entertainment, the Jacobs adaptation first saw the stage in 1975. Based on Gaston Leroux’s original novel “Le Fantome de l’Opera,” the Jacobs version pre-dates the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber show.

Jacobs’ original script and score have been revived to bring “Phantom” to life for an Indonesian audience. Big Daddy had to build everything from scratch in just a week and a half.

“We pretty much changed almost everything for the show because the venue is not a traditional theater,” said William Meade, the group’s president.

“For example, the stage has a circle in the middle, which is common in venues for music concerts. But we have to hide that for this production,” he said.

The show’s score is a combination of musical theater and operatic styles. Meade said that because the show requires a live orchestra, a space for the musicians was also needed. “Normally, in musicals and operas, the audience can’t see the orchestra. But due to the space limits, we can’t really do that here,” he said.

The production’s technical supervisor Regan Kimmel said that although it takes a great deal of preparation, having to modify a venue and make adjustments is a common challenge for a traveling show.

“We have held shows before in venues not designed to hold musicals,” he said.

“We have been all over places for many years, and we have had venues that are even more difficult to transform than this one. Once we had a show at an indoor soccer stadium.”

In the wardrobe section, costume designer Jose Rivera has a collection of more than 150 pieces of clothing, many of which are heavy garments.

“The setting is wintertime and we needed to create the atmosphere so it would look real for the audience,” he said, adding that some of the costumes were old and needed special care.

The troupe plans to stage 24 shows here over three weeks, ending on March 3.

“Doing a show like this for a short period of time would be too expensive,” said Gary Plant, the international business director for Big Daddy. “So [the budget] has a lot to do with the show’s schedule. It just works better if done a bit longer.”

Having an international show in Jakarta like this one, Plant added, will likely attract an audience that may not otherwise travel overseas just to go to the theater, given the high cost and inconvenience that would entail.

“It will also be good for those who are busy working and cannot take a vacation,” he said.

But Plant said one of the main reasons for the show’s long schedule was to bring Indonesians closer to a world-class musical theater experience.

“I think Indonesians, especially Jakartans, should come and see the show just for the cultural experience,” he said.

“Coming to the show will enable them to enjoy real operatic singing, world-class ballet dancing, a live orchestra and the combination of the lights, the sets, the effects — everything.”

Performed by a New York-based cast, “The Phantom of the Opera” is the first international-class musical theater act to perform in Indonesia.

“A show of this level has never been seen in Jakarta before, so we find it very exciting,” he said. “It’s not like you see a show here every day with a full cast of New York actors.

“We hope that Indonesians will say ‘Hey, can you bring some more?’ ”