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View all search resultsHome Sweet Loan The Musical puts the sandwich generation on stage
Almira Bastari’s bestselling story moves from page and screen to the stage, where music, choreography and comedy give Kaluna’s struggles a new dimension.
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Home on stage: An official poster for Home Sweet Loan The Musical, a new stage adaptation of Almira Bastari’s best-selling novel about the pressures facing Indonesia’s sandwich generation. The production runs at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, in Central Jakarta from Wednesday through Oct. 18, 2026. (Instagram/Home Sweet Loan The Musical/-)
F
or Kaluna, home is more than a roof over her head. It is the promise of having a place of her own, even as family obligations, financial pressures and Jakarta’s rising cost of living keep that dream out of reach.
Her struggle takes center stage in Home Sweet Loan The Musical (HSL The Musical), a new stage adaptation of Almira Bastari’s best-selling novel about the pressures facing Indonesia’s sandwich generation.
A collaboration between Visinema, Jakarta Art House and Indonesia Kaya, the production runs at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 18.
The novel, published in 2022, was adapted into a film in 2024 that drew more than one million viewers within 11 days of its release. Now, Kaluna’s story is being expanded once again, this time through music, movement and live performance.
The story first reached the stage in February 2025 through AKUKALUNA, a 45-minute monologue presented by Visinema and Jakarta Art House at Galeri Indonesia Kaya. The shows played to a full house, with many audience members moved to tears as they saw their own struggles reflected in Kaluna.
“So many people saw themselves in Kaluna, and many were asking when we would bring the story back to the stage,” said Jakarta Art House cofounder Fadli Hafizan.
That response prompted Fadli to approach Visinema producer Cristian Imanuell about expanding Kaluna’s story into a full-length musical.
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