Cynthia Erivo Weighs In On The Wicked Sing-Along Debate

Cynthia Erivo is ready to settle one ongoing debate for good. Ever since Wicked flew into theaters, longtime fans of the musical have been struggling with a unique etiquette question: can they sing along to the songs they know by heart, or would that ruin the experience for other moviegoers? Erivo is staunchly on the side of the singing superfans. “I’m OK with it. We spent this long singing it ourselves — it’s time for everyone else to join in,” Erivo responded when asked about moviegoers singing along on Nov. 28.

Erivo’s position is a bit of a controversial one, especially after photos of “no singing” signs have been spotted at several theaters showing Wicked. A spokesperson for AMC also recently urged patrons to restrain from disturbing the viewing experience by singing along.

Plus, specified sing-along screenings of Wicked are coming to movie theaters soon. Universal Pictures will screen sing-along versions of the movie musical at over a thousand theaters nationwide starting on Dec. 25.

Despite all that, it sounds like Erivo is totally here for anyone who feels the need to attempt her “Defying Gravity” riff from their theater seats. And she’s not the only movie star who feels that way. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also told audiences seeing his musical movie Moana 2 to join in the songs if they feel compelled to. “Sing! You’ve paid your hard-earned money for a ticket, and you’ve gone into a musical, and you’re into it. Sing,” Johnson said.

So, if you just have to belt out “The Wizard and I” next time to hit up the movies to see Wicked, you’ve got Elphaba’s approval to do so. Or, you could just wait a couple weeks for the official sing-along screenings if you’d rather not risk causing a commotion.