Show stopper: Singalong fans kicked out, ‘bodyguard’ suspended

Manchester, England — A British performance of the musical “The Bodyguard” ended with unrequited love for some audience members who couldn’t refrain from singing until the anthemic finale.

The show at Manchester’s Palace Theater came to a halt on Friday when two unruly patrons were ejected for joining the lead in singing “I Will Always Love You,” the soaring, emotional ballad made famous by Whitney Houston.

It wasn’t meant to be a single. The ushers held signs saying, “Please refrain from singing,” said Tash Kenyon, an audience member, and it was announced in advance that the shepherds would have the opportunity to join in at the end but not to sing during the show.

During the closing number, someone exclaimed, “Does that mean we can start singing now?” Kenyon said. A deaf voice is dropped from the balcony and competes with the vocals of Melody Thornton, former member of The Pussycat Dolls.

Carl Bradley told the Manchester Evening News that the laughter then turned to anger and confusion.

“The stage then turned black again and that’s when it really started going off on the upper level, you could really hear the audible screams and gasps,” Bradley said. “Everybody started to stand up and look. There were cheers of ‘Get out, get out,’ to get them out.”

When the lights came on, the unwanted backup singers were removed from their seats by stage security and audience members began cheering.

But the music and the show are over.

A theater spokesman said the show had been canceled because annoying fans who refused to sit had spoiled the performance.

Thornton posted a video on Instagram thanking respected fans and apologizing to those who didn’t.

Greater Manchester Police said they had spoken to the two people who had been removed by security and would review the evidence before taking any action.