I Know You Love That Musical, But Please Don’t Sing Along

Songwriters

The theatre is not your shower or a karaoke bar

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Singing along seems most rampant at jukebox musicals featuring well-known pop songs such as Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and the Go-Go’s Head Over Heels. Perhaps that’s why Summer: The Donna Summer Musical dispenses with traditional audience etiquette and actually encourages people to sing and dance! I know that’s the norm at pop concerts, but usually the sound system is so loud you can’t hear the fans. Theatre is a different medium with a different set of expectations, which, until recently, included the rule that everyone should STHU.

Unfortunately, like cell phones ringing in the audience, I fear singing along is the new normal, but there are ways to corral it. Recent revivals of Pippin and Hedwig and the Angry Inch had numbers when the audience was prompted to sing along on specific lines, which was quite fun. And the West End production of the Meat Loaf-inspired musical Bat Out of Hell recently announced special sing-along performances featuring the lyrics projected on a screen.

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Erika Gould is an editorial and advertising writer who is passionate about theatre.

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ERIKA GOULD