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A stage version of Indonesia's highest-grossing movie of all time, which opens here tomorrow, is Singapore's first big- budget, family-friendly musical aimed at Malay audiences.

The Indonesian production, titled Muzikal Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops Musical), is on at the Esplanade Concert Hall over two days and is the anchor act for the Esplanade's annual Malay arts festival, Pesta Raya.

The 150-minute musical tells the story of children from a poor mining village on the Indonesian island of Belitung in Sumatra and their struggle to complete their education.

The 120-strong cast and crew include young local talent from Yusof Ishak Secondary School and Sekolah Indonesia Singapura.

Adapted from a best-selling 2005 novel of the same name by writer Andrea Hirata, the story was made into a 2008 film which was a box-office hit watched by over four million Indonesian cinema- goers. It also did the rounds of the international film festival circuit.

The same creative team behind the successful movie - producer, scriptwriter and lyricist Mira Lesmana and director Riri Riza - have adapted the story for the stage.

The musical was first staged in Jakarta from December last year to January and was so successful that it ran for a second season in July. The two-season run cost producers more than 8 billion rupiah (about S$1.1 million) to stage.

The Esplanade declined to reveal the cost of staging the musical's three shows here.

Speaking to Life! from Jakarta recently, Riri, 40, said that directing the live adaptation of Laskar Pelangi was one of his "proudest moments".

"In the film, we focused on the characters, the 10 children and their teachers," he said. "But a musical is all about the ensemble, it has big anthems and choreographed dances and songs.

"Rather than concentrate on one or two main characters, we tried to focus on the mentality of the community on the island. These people believe that, one day, their destiny will change if they work hard and accept that things may get better."

Mira, 46, said that she was overwhelmed by the positive response to the live adaptation of Laskar Pelangi and getting a chance to stage the production in Singapore.

"Musicals are a new thing in Jakarta. I wanted to do a musical that is of Broadway quality but at the same time, I wanted it to be Indonesian, with local content, and this story has a strong Malay background."

Riri and Mira are known for directing and producing popular Indonesian movies such as Apa Ada Dengan Cinta (What's Up With Love?, 2002), Kuldesak (1998) and Laskar Pelangi's film sequel, Sang Pemimpi (2009).

The songs in the musical are composed by award-winning composer Erwin Gutawa, who will also conduct a 20-piece orchestra for the Esplanade shows.

He told Life!: "We used traditional Malay instruments such as the rebana, a percussive instrument, and wind instruments such as the serunai and saluang."

The central role of Ikal, one of the poor students in the village school, is played by young Indonesian actor Christoffer Nelwan, who starred in the Jakarta productions.

The former student at Binus International School Serpong spent up to six hours a day rehearsing for his role. The 14-year-old is now home-schooled.

He said that he is both excited and nervous about performing in Singapore.

He added: "To get rid of the nerves, I would usually just jump around before going on. But once I'm on stage, I just let the character flow through me."

Pesta Raya festivals kicked off in 2002 and have included musicals such as Puteri Gunung Ledang in 2006 and Impak Maksima last year, but the new aspect about Muzikal Laskar Pelangi is that it can be enjoyed by children and adults.

The Esplanade's associate producer, Norhayati Yusoff, said: "This is the first time that Pesta Raya is presenting a large-scale musical targeted at families. The heartwarming story about spirited children fighting for their right to an education in an isolated village will appeal to the whole family."

She added that the Indonesian musical has 'strong elements of Malay culture', from the language of Belitung, which is quite close to the Malay language, to the costumes, the dance moves and the silat, a form of Malay martial arts.

Non-Malay or Bahasa Indonesia- speaking audiences will have no problem following the play as there will be surtitles.

Theatregoers such as Nor Azizah Mahmud, who will be watching Laskar Pelangi with her husband and two children, are looking forward to the musical.

The 47-year-old teacher said: "I really loved the original book so I am eager to see the story brought to life on stage. There aren't that many Malay musicals here that my children can enjoy together with my husband and me, so we're turning it into a family outing."

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.