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Monday, September 29, 2025
The ‘Hamilton’ Movie Sing-Along Controversy, Explained
www.forbes.com: Some fans attended Hamilton screenings fully anticipating an interactive sing-along experience, much to the dismay of others expecting silent, standard movie theater etiquette.
6 comments:
Ryan Hoffman
said...
Honestly, movies, especially proshots shown in movie theatres, should never be considered a sing along session. This is what ruined the experience of thousands in the Taylor Swift concert. You should behave the same as if you were in the theatre on Broadway. If you’re seeing it outside like a concert venue, sing your hearts out, however, because you’re inside in a small box, don’t be singing and show some respect to the other people who paid the same amount of money as you to see the performance and the years of actual vocal performance training these actors have, not someone who only likes to sing in their showers and think they belong on Broadway. This is really one of the best ways to test someone's entitlement, are you willing to ruin someone's experience for your own enjoyment, or able to still enjoy a musical like you would have to in a Broadway performance.
I think this is interesting, how much hate people got for singing in the crowd. I think that there can be a line, as if you are quietly singing to yourself, and people can still hear and enjoy the movie, then I don’t see a huge problem in singing alone. On the other hand, I can definitely see how it can be upsetting to come to the movies to see and hear the professionals and the stars of the musical, and if you can’t hear them, that can be very frustrating and a waste of money. I think that the movie theaters should provide a special sing-along event, like they did with the release of the Wicked movie. This would allow the theater kids who want to sing their hearts out, and the people who want to absorb the show, both have their time to watch the musical in the theaters.
I think this is really more of an audience and movie goer issue than it is any kind of “controversy” that someone can solve. If it was called a sing-a-long and therefore it is meant to be sung a-long to, simple as that, there really is not a debate to be had. But if its not, its really not your place to disrupt others in the theater. If you want to see Hamilton and have fun singing the lyrics with your friends feel free to sing along in the comfort of your own home or outdoors in a park or something. I get if people may be disappointed that there only opportunity to see Hamilton in theaters wasn’t as sing a long, but that is something they have to deal with themselves and is not something that is fair to make an issue of other movie attendees about if they want to sing. I hope that Hamilton had a great tenth anniversary and movie theater popularity and I wish them continued success in their run with Leslie Odom Jr. returning.
I found this article really interesting. I was not aware that there were people trying to sing along with the Hamilton movie theatre screenings. I do remember seeing the Wicked and Minecraft controversy all over social media, however I guess the Wicked issues have not arrived to my For You Page yet. My opinion on this situation is that singing should only really happen if the screening is specifically marketed as a sing along. If I paid to watch a movie that was not labeled as a sing along, and many audience members were singing, I would be pretty angry. I find it a little funny, because the people that know every word to Hamilton, are the same people who shush other people in the theatre. This all goes back to the basics of audience etiquette, and quite frankly just respecting others. Hamilton is an outstanding show, although I enjoy In The Heights more, and I do know many of the lyrics but we should refrain from singing out loud in regular movie screenings.
I see both sides. On one hand, you want to relax and watch the movie as if you’re in the Richard Rodgers Theater seeing it live. On the other hand, you know every word (as well as most other people in the theater) and want to sing it as if you’re at a concert. I remember almost this exact thing happening with the Eras Tour film as well, people came dressed up as if it was the concert, whereas others just wanted to see the film. I think the solution ‘Wicked’ came up with for this was the best – have a screening where you can sing and one where you can’t. It's a simple, easy solution that should make everyone happy. I also think that for every musical that hits the big screen this should happen. It allows people to be able to come together and sing without worrying that they are bothering others or harming someone else’s experience.
I had a feeling that a controversy like this would crop up again after what happened with Wicked last year. Despite not being marketed as a sing along, people are once again singing along to an on screen feature of a musical. Both the Wicked and Hamilton controversies struck me as quite odd due to the fact that people seem to lose common theater etiquette when seeing a musical rather than a usual feature film. Also, when seeing an actual live theatrical performance, common practice is also not to sing along with the actors who are performing on stage. Why is the etiquette not the same when it comes to musical movies? To an extent, releasing sing along versions of the films would help to solve this issue, as it would give a clear indicator to the audience on what showings people could go to should they want to sing along.
6 comments:
Honestly, movies, especially proshots shown in movie theatres, should never be considered a sing along session. This is what ruined the experience of thousands in the Taylor Swift concert. You should behave the same as if you were in the theatre on Broadway. If you’re seeing it outside like a concert venue, sing your hearts out, however, because you’re inside in a small box, don’t be singing and show some respect to the other people who paid the same amount of money as you to see the performance and the years of actual vocal performance training these actors have, not someone who only likes to sing in their showers and think they belong on Broadway. This is really one of the best ways to test someone's entitlement, are you willing to ruin someone's experience for your own enjoyment, or able to still enjoy a musical like you would have to in a Broadway performance.
I think this is interesting, how much hate people got for singing in the crowd. I think that there can be a line, as if you are quietly singing to yourself, and people can still hear and enjoy the movie, then I don’t see a huge problem in singing alone. On the other hand, I can definitely see how it can be upsetting to come to the movies to see and hear the professionals and the stars of the musical, and if you can’t hear them, that can be very frustrating and a waste of money. I think that the movie theaters should provide a special sing-along event, like they did with the release of the Wicked movie. This would allow the theater kids who want to sing their hearts out, and the people who want to absorb the show, both have their time to watch the musical in the theaters.
I think this is really more of an audience and movie goer issue than it is any kind of “controversy” that someone can solve. If it was called a sing-a-long and therefore it is meant to be sung a-long to, simple as that, there really is not a debate to be had. But if its not, its really not your place to disrupt others in the theater. If you want to see Hamilton and have fun singing the lyrics with your friends feel free to sing along in the comfort of your own home or outdoors in a park or something. I get if people may be disappointed that there only opportunity to see Hamilton in theaters wasn’t as sing a long, but that is something they have to deal with themselves and is not something that is fair to make an issue of other movie attendees about if they want to sing. I hope that Hamilton had a great tenth anniversary and movie theater popularity and I wish them continued success in their run with Leslie Odom Jr. returning.
I found this article really interesting. I was not aware that there were people trying to sing along with the Hamilton movie theatre screenings. I do remember seeing the Wicked and Minecraft controversy all over social media, however I guess the Wicked issues have not arrived to my For You Page yet. My opinion on this situation is that singing should only really happen if the screening is specifically marketed as a sing along. If I paid to watch a movie that was not labeled as a sing along, and many audience members were singing, I would be pretty angry. I find it a little funny, because the people that know every word to Hamilton, are the same people who shush other people in the theatre. This all goes back to the basics of audience etiquette, and quite frankly just respecting others. Hamilton is an outstanding show, although I enjoy In The Heights more, and I do know many of the lyrics but we should refrain from singing out loud in regular movie screenings.
I see both sides. On one hand, you want to relax and watch the movie as if you’re in the Richard Rodgers Theater seeing it live. On the other hand, you know every word (as well as most other people in the theater) and want to sing it as if you’re at a concert. I remember almost this exact thing happening with the Eras Tour film as well, people came dressed up as if it was the concert, whereas others just wanted to see the film. I think the solution ‘Wicked’ came up with for this was the best – have a screening where you can sing and one where you can’t. It's a simple, easy solution that should make everyone happy. I also think that for every musical that hits the big screen this should happen. It allows people to be able to come together and sing without worrying that they are bothering others or harming someone else’s experience.
I had a feeling that a controversy like this would crop up again after what happened with Wicked last year. Despite not being marketed as a sing along, people are once again singing along to an on screen feature of a musical. Both the Wicked and Hamilton controversies struck me as quite odd due to the fact that people seem to lose common theater etiquette when seeing a musical rather than a usual feature film. Also, when seeing an actual live theatrical performance, common practice is also not to sing along with the actors who are performing on stage. Why is the etiquette not the same when it comes to musical movies? To an extent, releasing sing along versions of the films would help to solve this issue, as it would give a clear indicator to the audience on what showings people could go to should they want to sing along.
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