Wicked is in cinemas now, but should you sing along?

Wicked is in cinemas now, but what's the etiquette around singing along to a musical? Photo / @wickedmovie

By Jogai Bhatt of RNZ

The world’s largest cinema chain has banned audience participation at musical Wicked. Kiwi fans have their say.

Shortland Street actor Ava Diakhaby is a massive fan of Wicked.

She fell in love with the hit Broadway musical as a child, seeing it on London’s West End at age 12, blasting the soundtrack on drives to drama school in her teens, and now, 10 years later, eagerly lining up for an early screening of the much-anticipated film adaptation.

As a die-hard fan, Diakhaby has one piece of advice for audiences: Don’t sing along in theatres.

“Just hear me out. If you’re going to the movies to watch a musical, you shouldn’t be singing. You can laugh, clap, giggle, even gasp, but singing is just an absolute no.”

It might sound like a divisive opinion, but Diakhaby isn’t alone.

On Friday, the world’s largest cinema chain, AMC Theatres, sparked some debate online after officially banning singing during screenings of Wicked.

“At AMC Theatres, silence is golden. No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing. No flirting. And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies,” their pre-show advisory read.

Banning singing at the movies is about ensuring everyone gets an uninterrupted viewing experience, says Diakhaby.

For Diakhaby, banning singing at the movies isn’t about policing anyone’s fun - it’s about ensuring everyone gets an uninterrupted viewing experience.

“I made sure I got the first screening available ... and it was perfect, beautiful, just amazing. I was grinning the whole time. It was like, when a family is watching something they’ve seen so many times before, they were laughing so hard and so loud, and then when little surprise moments happened everyone cheered, that stuff was really cute, so it was a really good audience.”

The original Wicked musical, with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, made songs like Popular and Defying Gravity iconic.

The 2024 film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in those same roles, and Diakhaby believes singing along could take away from appreciating the new performances.

“I’m a massive fan of musicals and Wicked but I just wouldn’t sing ... we’re there appreciating what Ariana and Cynthia have to offer compared to Idina and Kristin, that’s what’s so exciting and beautiful about it.

“I didn’t pay to hear everyone else. I’m someone that would love to sing in the cinema but I’m not going to because I have respect. It’s there for us all to watch and listen to the people who can really sing.”

Some cinemas cater to more vocal fans with special singalong screenings. At Auckland’s Academy Cinemas, venue manager Cameo England even advertises these events for cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease and Mamma Mia.

“For new releases, I would expect the audience to just watch and enjoy, but since Wicked is well known from the stage it’s hard to say. Personally, I’m all for the audience singing along unless it’s disrupting someone else’s enjoyment.”

Even one of the film’s stars, Cynthia Erivo, has weighed in on the debate.

Cynthia Erivo has also weighed in on the singing along debate.

“I say, if you come the first time and you sing through, sing through. But come a second time and let us sing to you.”

Film reviewer Tom Augustine says there’s nothing wrong with a bit of audience participation.

“It’s nice when you hear murmurs when something shocking happens in a cinema, or people go to comedies and laugh, in horrors they yell at the screen. If people are going to the cinema and they feel moved that they want to engage with it in that way, I would rather that than someone being on their phone or having a full-blown conversation.

“Cinemas are a communal space, you’re going there to be with other people as much as you are to go and watch something, so I’m not huge on policing people’s reactions in that regard. I’m probably in the minority when it comes to critics on that.”

Augustine says New Zealand audiences tend to be more reserved on the whole.

“I was at a premiere screening [of Wicked] and it was completely full, there was some cheering and clapping after certain performances, and then cause it’s part one of the movie, it ends with a ‘to be continued’ and there was a lot of groaning at the end, but I didn’t get much singing along in my audience, which actually kind of surprised me to be honest, cause there were a lot of people who were dressed up and all that.

“I definitely think it’s a New Zealand thing to be a bit more modest in the cinema space ... there’s just a lot less participation.”

Both Diakhaby and Augustine agree there’s a solution: More dedicated singalong screenings.

“If we all purchased tickets to a singalong night, pop off, that’s obviously what we’re there for,” Diakhaby says.

In 2014, the actor was in a theatre production of Jesus Christ Superstar. One of the nights happened to be a singalong performance.

“I remember being in the cast and thinking, ‘Ooh, what’s this gonna be?’ And it was sweet. I swear that was the cutest night of my life.”

Augustine believes these events would better serve musical theatre fans.

“The people wanting to sing, who are going there to sing, should be able to go to singalong screenings. There should just be a bunch of them.

“[Musical theatre] is definitely something with a built-in really passionate fanbase. I don’t think the film is particularly good or caters to those fans very well, but if someone feels inspired by the music, it is a fairly dramatic kind of film and it’s sure to inspire people in that way, it’s probably fine.

“I don’t see how it’s any different to when Avengers: Endgame came out and there’s that big moment and everyone’s standing and cheering. I don’t know if someone should be practising their full-on karaoke performance, but if someone wants to sing along, I don’t see it being a big deal.

“I think if you are a fan of that and you feel inspired by what’s happening on screen, then more power to you really.”