Many audience members who attended Hanoman: The Ultimate Warrior Musical on Saturday were surprised, for what they imagined they were to see was actually far from the reality.

“I thought I was going to see a musical with lots of Javanese touches. I even thought much of the dialogue would be in high Javanese. But I was wrong,” said Bardha Gemilang, 20, after watching the musical with his family.

“But it was good — different,” he said.

The enthusiasm for Hanoman could be seen from the long lines of people waiting to get into the venue two hours before the show was to begin — the kind of thing you see at concerts.

Another element that was different was the choice of venue.

If usually musicals are performed at Taman Ismail Marzuki or Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, both in Central Jakarta, this one took place at an indoor stadium.

On Saturday, at least 5,000 people came to Tennis Indoor Senayan in Central Jakarta to watch Hanoman, with two shows, one at 4 p.m. and the other at 7 p.m.

When the lights started to dim, Ki Dalang Sambowo from Wayang Orang Bharata appeared on stage to offer a brief introduction to wayang’s history.

Hanoman was adapted from a wayang story that revolves around the story of the monkey god Hanoman, starting from his birth and moving into his teens. It is a story that is rarely told.

Hanoman began with Resi Gautama cursing his wife, Dewi Indradi, and turning her into a stone after he found out she cheated on him with Batara Surya — played by Max Morgan, a rocker from England.

Before Dewi Indradi married Gautama, she and Batara Surya were involved in a romance. Batara Surya gave her what is termed Cupu Manik Astagina, an item that contains the water of life, and asked her to keep it to herself.

When Gautama found out that the Cupu Manik had caused a fight among his children, he threw the item into a valley, which then turned into a cursed lake.

His children, Guwarsa, Guwarsi and Ratna Anjani, chase after it into the lake, then turning into monkey-like humans.

Because Gautama could not do anything to help them change back, he asked them to pray.

During prayers on the banks of the lake, Anjani — played by Laura Vall — catches the attention of Batara Guru (Daniel Torres), the god of the gods.

Visual: A character in Hanoman performs at Tennis Indoor Senayan in Central Jakarta on Saturday. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)Batara Guru says he will help Anjani if she will marry him, and she later gives birth to Hanoman (played by Volland Humonggio).

At first, Hanoman finds it hard to believe that he looks like a monkey, because none of the people around him want to discuss his actual appearance. He tries to accept it when two little angels bluntly say that he looks like a monkey.

Uttering the words in English, little Hanoman was successful in bringing a refreshing touch to the performance with his witty banter on stage after intense, gloomy scenes full of fighting.

When the teenage Hanoman appeared for the first time, the audience could not clearly understand Hanoman’s words due to a technical glitch.

The problem was quickly fixed, as Hanoman was then able to speak clearly, even after he finished parts that required him to move a lot, including a fight to save his mother who was kidnapped by demons.

The musical showed that it was new and different through the conversations that took place in English sometimes mixed with Indonesian and Javanese.

Moreover, the show also featured something that probably rarely happens in musicals in the country: a live guitar performance that accompanied some of the scenes from rock guitarist Piyu, who played Batara Chandra.

The audience was also invited to enjoy the show up close when cast members left the stage and performed close to the audience in their seats. Some dancers even appeared from the back of the VIP sections before arriving on stage.

The fun continued when the players flew around the stage, the movements combined with visual effects featured on three large screens.

However, some of the visuals were only shown on the main screen in the middle of the stage, making it hard for the audience sitting to the left and right of the stage to see and connect the acts on stage with the visuals on screen.

All in all, audience members were amazed by the musical.

Jeremy, 35, said the price of the ticket was worth the enjoyment of watching it.

“I wanted to see how another version of Hanoman could be made. And it was all worth it, especially when you get to see performances from the Broadway actors,” he said.

“My favorite part was when Anjani sang an Indonesian song flawlessly with a Broadway actor. It sent shivers down my spine.”

Although the adapted story veered from its original content, the show was at least able to attract the curiosity of young people to get to know something more about wayang.