Cynthia Erivo has weighed in on the debate of whether or not it’s okay to sing along at the cinema while watching Wicked.
Elphaba herself, Cynthia Erivo, is the latest actor to chime in on whether or not audiences should be allowed to belt out tunes like ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘What Is This Feeling?’ while watching Wicked in the cinema.
Earlier in the week, Dwayne Johnson, who voices demigod Maui in Moana 2, said audiences have every right to sing along to the film’s songs.
“Sing! You’ve paid your hard earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it,” he told BBC News on Sunday. “Especially if you love music, that’s the fun part.”
Erivo seems to agree. The actress was in attendance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which was broadcasted on NBC on Thursday and she was asked whether or not fans should be singing along. “I’m OK with it,” Erivo said, as reported by Variety. “We spent this long singing it ourselves – it’s time for everyone else to join in. It’s wonderful.”
In the US, Wicked will have special sing-along screenings this Christmas where it’s definitely appropriate to sing your heart out to ‘Popular’, but we’re not sure it’s quite right in regular screenings…
Read more: Moana 2 | Please, Dwayne Johnson, don’t sing in the cinema
Some cinemas in the US have been forced to put up signs to discourage viewers from singing.
“AMC has a long-standing policy that prohibits disruptive behavior,” said AMC Theatres spokesperson Ryan Noonan. “The Wicked preshow spot [which includes ‘no singing’] incorporates the themes of the film as a fun, engaging reminder to moviegoers to not disrupt the experience for those around them as they enjoy the show.”
It’s not just the singing that has been disruptive to Wicked screenings. Many patrons have taken to filming large portions of the film, especially the final, show-stopping number, ‘Defying Gravity’. Recording and sharing scenes from a film is illegal, but then again, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy and star Ryan Reynolds spent most of this summer sharing people’s shaky phone camera footage. You can see why people might be confused about what’s allowed or appropriate in a cinema.
Wicked has already broken box office records, such as the biggest ever opening for a movie musical based on a Broadway show, beating out 2012’s Les Misérables.
