Tale of a Newly Rich

Wealth does not always brings goodness

Daim (Pepeng), is an illiterate man who became wealthy after he inherited his family’s satay business from his parents who recently passed away.

As a newly rich,Daim felt the need to upgrade himself in order to mingle easily with people with the same social class. So Then, to enhance his appreciation to music he invited a music teacher, he invited a dance teacher to give him dance lessons. He also invited a philosopher to teach him literature, philosophy, and poetry, although the only lesson he can follow is the spelling lesson.

He resisted everything that has any relation to the common people. He decided that he needed new clothes which although created with the best materials, these new clothes made him looked ridiculous instead. People are mocking his strange behavior behind his back, and he became an easy target for the deceitful Dul Rante (Teddy), a bankrupt business who kept lending big amount of money from Daim.

Daim also forbade his daughter, Lusi (Metha) to have a relationship with Leo Karta (Hafidz). Leo Karta with his faithful servant Karim Lele (Epi Kusnandar) disguised themselves as Turkish noblemen in order to got Daim’s blessings.

This play was adopted from one of Moliere’s play. Previously, Teater Kafe has played other plays by Moliere., such as Les Fourberies de Scapin which was adapted to Diakali si Kabayan (Fooled by Kabayan). Teater Kafe hoped that their consistency in playing dramas created by French playwright would open a way to collaborate with the French cultural center in Jakarta.

“ Moliere’s play is loaded with social criticism, and humanistic value. Which is still relevan to look at the current condition of society,” said Suryadi Sanubari, the director of the play. “ We feel that this play is an accurate satire to look at the Indonesia during the economic crises. In one end the poor grows poorer, but ironically during these times there are more and more newly rich who spends their money on expensive things.”

In August, Teater Kafe will play Orang Kaya Baru in Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. “ But we will shorten the duration from three hours to two hours,” said Suryadi.