Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo play the roles of Glinda and Elphaba in the film Bad. They can be seen above talking about the film in Las Vegas in April 2024.

Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

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Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

The first part of Bad arrives in theaters on Friday, November 22 – and fans of the Broadway musical have one request: please don’t sing along.

At least, not yet.

Beginning December 25, sing-along screenings of the film will be available in theaters for fans who want to join Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in gravity-defying choruses of songs, Variety announced Monday.

Until then? Fans say: Do it. Not. Singing.

“People want to sing along,” says Howard Sherman, an American theater columnist based in London The stage. “I know I have my coping mechanisms when I see favorite musicals: (I’m a) big head bobber, I’m a toe tapper. I even say the lyrics sometimes, but my vocal cords don’t vibrate.”

Sherman said singing together unites and brings a lot of joy, but he hopes that in the first few weeks, when people see it for the first time, they “just want to experience what they’re getting on screen.”

Fans all over the Internet are hoping that moviegoers will silently partake in that experience. Or at least calmly.

“They didn’t buy tickets to hear some rando, they want to hear Ariana Grande,” said Alex Lewis, an actor and one of three members of the band Lewberger, in an TikTok posted to the band’s account.

Munashe Chinyanganya, a creator and podcast host, posted a video She said she had a suggestion for those desperate to sing: belt it out on the car ride on the way to the theater, then immediately mute yourself.

Fans aren’t the only ones who want a quiet movie experience.

AMC theaters play an advisory before the movie, reminding audiences to remain quiet throughout. In addition to the usual admonitions for talking and texting, the pre-show voiceover also tells the audience not to whine, flirt, curse at people… or sing.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who play Glinda and Elphaba in the film, told NBC News that they understand the urge to sing along.

“It’s tempting,” Grande said.

“I say: if you come the first time and you keep singing, keep singing,” Erivo said. “But come again and let us sing to you.”

The Bad film only tells the first half of the musical’s story. For the rest, fans will have to let Grande and Erivo sing again when Bad: Part 2 will be released next year.

Jennifer Vanasco this story edited.