Suzanne's Mom's Blog

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Is it okay to sing along at a Broadway show? A viral incident ignites a debate.

The first time we took Suzanne and John to a Broadway show, Suzanne was only five. We thought she’d be more likely to get something out of it if she knew the music, so she was well versed in Cats, although it was the London version. She sang along pretty quietly, but I’m sure other people heard her — or heard her big brother shooshing her.

Today’s story is all about the phenomenon of singing at shows.

Naveen Kumar wrote at the Washington Post, “The same day that the Beetlejuice musical concluded its limited return to Broadway with a curtain-call sing-along, security guards over at Mamma Mia! ejected a group of women who had reportedly treated the first act like a karaoke bar. Video of a man confronting them during intermission went viral, igniting the latest round of heated debate over audience behavior.

“People and TMZ ran stories about the Jan. 3 incident casting the man as belligerent, alongside stock images of angry dudes yelling. But thousands of Redditors swiftly rallied behind him, while TikToks in his defense racked up millions of supporters. …

“Theatergoers flooded online comments with stories about people singing aloud at musicals, which has grown more pervasive in recent years. Some would argue it’s a continuation of the unruly misconduct that made industry headlines as theater returned from pandemic shutdowns. But it’s also true that many of today’s top-selling musicals feature lyrics that millions of people know by heart. …

“The question of if and when it’s okay to pipe up seems to be one of time and place, not to mention the intention behind it — and whether it rises to the level of loud and obnoxious. …

“Where people draw the line on what’s ‘too crazy’ may be the animating question of our time, and it very much applies in this case. …

“Says Larry Smiglewski, the Mamma Mia! production stage manager, who also worked on the Tina Turner and Temptations musicals, ‘There is a very specific and beautiful relationship that’s created between the performers and the audience — singing along is really starting to detract from that.’ …

“Over at MJ, where the score features some of the most recognizable pop hits of all time, audiences are ‘energetic and excitable’ says Matte Martinez, who stepped into the title role this past September. The show follows Michael Jackson’s planning of the Dangerous World Tour, and the production often has a concert-like feel, so Martinez appreciates the impulse some have to join in.

“ ‘If you’re a Michael Jackson fan, it’s a little bit torture because you’re watching this show, but you can’t sing as loudly as you want to,’ Martinez says. … ‘It’s definitely encouraged to sit and listen. But if you find yourself singing along to “Beat It,” you know, hey, it’s “Beat It.” ‘ …

” ‘If we actually create a sing-along performance, we’ll be giving [fans] something they want, and we’ll hopefully curtail the idea of singing along when it’s not supposed to be happening,’ says Eva Price, one of & Juliet’s Broadway producers. The special performances, which were first piloted on the West End, have been held roughly twice a year. …

” ‘It is really beautiful, if you’re expecting it,’ says Justin Collette, who played the title role in Beetlejuice and led the closing-night sing-along to the group number ‘That Beautiful Sound’ during curtain call. ‘It turns [the theater] into a church.’

“But how much freedom do people have to worship in their own way? ‘Vibe and intention is everything,’ Collette says. ‘You can tell when there’s a group of 10-year-olds in the audience who have been singing this song in their parents’ cars for years and they’re joyously getting involved,’ Collette adds. ‘Then there are people that want the attention.’ …

“Says Franca Vercelloni, a pianist of 20 years at the famed West Village show tunes bar Marie’s Crisis. ‘For a lot of people, it reminds them of being in choir or in shows when they were in school,’ a feeling she notes is harder to find in adulthood.

“Still, she says, ‘Marie’s is the place for them to express their feelings about the music and have that fulfillment, not the theater.’ “

More at the Post via Yahoo, here.