Wicked Stans Won’t Stop Singing Along in Theaters

Photo: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

After almost a year of coordinated pink-and-green outfits, elaborate merch releases, and me knowing way too much about SpongeBob on Broadway, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Wicked is finally here. (The first half, at least.) Movie theaters are gearing up to handle hordes of Stanley tumbler-toting theater kids; they are even offering special sing-along screenings starting December 25. There’s one problem: A lot of people want to hit the high F in “Defying Gravity” now, and they are going to do it whether their fellow theatergoers want to hear them or not.

Technically, Wicked isn’t even out yet; its official release date is Friday. But incensed reports from early screenings describe enthusiastic fans in the audience who feel empowered to sing aloud, often off-key, to the songs in the movie. One woman fumed that during the film’s big finale, the chorus of stans was loud enough that she “could hear people over Cynthia Erivo.”

The crisis has spawned a heated debate over whether superfans should be allowed to sing along. Theaters have landed squarely in the camp of “no.” Some put out signs politely asking everyone to “refrain from singing during the show.” AMC is reportedly playing a 30-second ad spot before all Wicked screenings that includes its usual “No talking, no texting” reminder but adds: “No singing. No wailing. No flirting. And absolutely no name-calling.”

And yet, theaters are fighting an uphill battle. As one fan who plans to sing along told the New York Times, “You can’t stop someone who loves it so much.” Why does that read like a threat?!