Name: Cinema singalongs.
Age: Hard to tell the exact origin but the most recent example is just days old.
Appearance: Like a film, but with a badly malfunctioning soundtrack.
You mean singing along to a movie in the cinema? Yes, exactly.
You can’t do that. Not normally, no.
Not ever! It’s the most antisocial thing I’ve ever heard of. But what if you just can’t help yourself?
Then you should see a doctor. And stay out of cinemas. Fans beg to differ.
Fans of what? Fans of Wicked, the Wizard of Oz-inspired stage musical, which has now been released as a film. They love the songs so much – and know them so well – they have reportedly been belting them out during early screenings.
If they were real fans, they would show more respect to … erm … To Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the stars of the film?
Yes, but also to other audience members, who paid to hear Grande and Erivo, not some random person two rows back. Management agrees with you: cinemas in the US have put up signs asking the audience to refrain from singing along.
Glad to hear that the rules still matter. Not everyone supports the policy, however. “Sing! You’ve paid your hard earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it,” said ex-wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
I must say, I didn’t expect to hear him weigh in on the matter. Perhaps you weren’t aware that Johnson voices the character Maui in the animated Disney musical Moana, whose sequel premiered this weekend.
Does the Moana franchise face the same issue? It could do – the original was beloved and a live-action remake is in the works.
I now feel caught between The Rock and a hard place. Is there a solution? North American cinema chains have already announced special singalong screenings of Wicked, where joining in will be welcomed.
Has such a thing ever been tried before? It has. In 1999 there was Sing-a-Long-a Sound of Music, an audience participation version of the 1965 film with subtitled lyrics.
And that was a success? Yes, one that was repeated with many other films: Sing-a-Long-a still tours British cinemas with similarly adapted versions of Grease, Encanto, Dirty Dancing and The Greatest Showman.
Although I hate to see this sort of thing encouraged, I accept a compromise is called for. When can I start avoiding singalong screenings of Wicked? You’re safe until Christmas.
Do say: “Good news! She’s dead! The Wicked Witch of the West is dead!”
Don’t say: “Can I bring my dog? He loves singing along to stuff.”
