Audience participation at the movies has been around since the old time vaudeville films had people booing and hissing along with villains at the screen. And the success of The Rocky Horror Picture Show should have shown theater owners that there's an appetite for this stuff.
That appetite is apparently growing. Not only has The Sound of Music spawned sing-a-long screenings, Kansas City fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be able to sing-a-long to its extraordinary musical episode "Once More With Feeling" at the Screenland Granada next month.
On Wednesday, the producers of the musical remake of Hairspray say they'll be holding sing-a-long screenings, starting a week from Friday in at least 30 cities. No word if Kansas City is part of it, but the city's strong movie fan base certainly makes it likely. If you haven't seen Hairspray yet, the music is upbeat, catchy, and the kind you'll be humming on the way home anyway, so why not see it with a group? It's one way producers think they'll be able to get people to come back and see the film again and again.