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After what feels like a billion years of gossip and press about it, part one of the movie version of Wicked finally comes out this Friday, November 22. AMC Theaters is not only anticipating a big crowd to come out and see the long-awaited adaptation, but they’re anticipating a big crowd of theater kids being the ones to show up. Now, we theater kids/former theater kids are not exactly known for being demure and mindful, especially when it comes to having a chance to burst into show tunes in public. Most of us know, however, the golden rule when seeing a live performance, which is that the show is on the stage, not in the audience. As such, AMC has issued a reminder to anyone who plans on seeing Wicked in theaters: It doesn’t matter how much gravity you defy; do not sing along.

According to AMC, movie-goers aren’t allowed to sing along to the Wicked songs at any point during the film. In fact, much like talking, singing of any kind is prohibited inside the theater at all times. In a short Wicked-themed preshow advisory video, AMC says: “At AMC Theaters, silence is golden. No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing. No Flirting. And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies.”

Speaking to IndyStar, AMC spokesperson Ryan Noonan explained that this has been the theater’s “long-standing policy” to prevent “disruptive behavior.” However, they wanted to emphasize these rules especially now before the musical debuts in theaters with time-honored songs like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.”

“The WICKED preshow spot 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,” Noonan’s statement sent to the outlet read.

AMC’s policy reminder sparked debate online with many people arguing for and against the no-singing rule while others admitted they may not be able to stop themselves from singing. On TikTok, comedy band Lewberger Music posted a video addressing the controversy. “Did you hear there’s going to be strict rules about the Wicked movie?” the group sang.

“Several people have made waves about what they’ll do if people sing during the film which raises some questions about contemporary movie theater etiquette because they didn’t buy tickets to hear some rando, they want to hear Ariana Grande,” the band continued. “You better not sing during the gosh darn movie.”

The Lewberger Music group pointed out that Regal Cinemas and Alamo Drafthouse have added sing-along showings to their screening list in the past. However, neither have done so for Wicked. In the band’s opinion, theaters should be hosting “rowdy” Wicked shows for fans to sing as aloud as they please without bothering guests who bought tickets to only hear the movie stars.

One viewer agreed sing-alongs were a great solution. “They should do a sing along version and have those showings…that way I can go to both,” they commented.

A second person said: “As someone who hasn’t had the opportunity to see it on stage, I agree with this so much! Let me experience it for the first time hearing them, then I’ll go to a sing-along screening.”

“I literally won’t be able to stop myself,” another added, while a fourth disagreed: “I don’t get people who want to hear themselves over the performances. This goes for concerts too. I’ve never understood it! And I’m a singer! If I want to sing I do it on stage or in my car,” one opinionated person commented on TikTok.”

One woman stubbornly confessed: “I’m singing quietly to myself and no one can stop me…it’s not like they could hear me over the movie.”

[From The Independent via Yahoo]

Anyone who is rolling their eyes at this kind of warning clearly does not understand the enthusiasm that certain musicals attract, lol. Let’s just say that no one was issuing any warnings when they did that awful adaptation of Cats a few years ago, but I bet plenty of people had to stop themselves from singing along to the Rent movie. I think having singalong screenings is absolutely the way to go. Give audiences a chance to Rocky Horror this sh-t or belt out how much nobody in all of Oz is ever going to bring us down. I guarantee that having those types of dedicated screenings is going to make audiences forget about any production/cast-related dramas and tell all of the rest of their on-the-fence theater kid friends to go see it.

That said, I am absolutely one of those people who side-eyed Ariana Grande’s casting as Galinda and questioned why a movie that just shows the first act of the musical needs to be longer than the actual full-length musical’s runtime. I watched that cringy clip of Ariana singing “Popular” that’s circulating online, but also have seen really good reviews for it on social media. I have no idea if it’s going to be as good as some of the online hype is, but, hey, at least we’re merely hours away from being able to find out for ourselves.

Photos credit: Getty, IMAGO/David Jones/Avalon, Eric Kowalsky/MEGA/Wenn/Avalon