The producers of the original Broadway musical Hamilton have issued a cease and desist letter to a Texas church for illegally performing a version of the hit play that contained homophobic rhetoric.
The Door McAllen Church in McAllen, Texas, hosted two screenings of the adapted production on Friday and Saturday nights, “Hamilton” writer Howard Sherman said on social media.
“Last night in McAllen TX, The Door McAllen Church committed blatant copyright infringement by performing and live streaming their own production of ‘Hamilton: The Musical,’ which is not licensed to any productions,” Sherman shared in a Twitter thread .
The Texas Church’s adaptation of the popular musical altered several passages with many Biblical references that were never included in the original production by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The church’s pastor, Victor Lopez, also preached a sermon after Friday’s show, in which he portrayed homosexuality as a “sin.”
“He knows exactly what you’ve been through,” Lopez tells churchgoers, referring to God. “You may have been through broken marriages. Maybe you struggled with alcohol, with drugs, with homosexuality. Maybe you’re struggling with other things in life, your finances, whatever, relationships. God can help you tonight. He wants to forgive you your sins.’
Victor Lopez, pastor at Door McAllen in McAllen, Texas, on Friday delivered a sermon using homophobic rhetoric at the conclusion of an illegal production of “Hamilton: The Musical.”
Several passages of the Texas Church game adaptation have been altered with biblical references, as “Hamilton” playwright Howard Sherman mentioned on Twitter
Door McAllen claims that the producers of Hamilton: The Musical gave them permission to direct production on Saturday after receiving a cease and desist letter
In response, Sherman pointed out that “addiction” and “LGBTQ life is not a sin.” He went on to say that the church cannot “send messages contrary to messages contrary to the messages of Hamilton, the musical or the theater and must not be permitted to use the works of artists.” to use for their own ends”.
The playwright contacted the Texas church to prevent Saturday’s show and thought he had successfully done so, noting that the church’s Facebook event for the show was canceled.
However, Sherman received an email from Door McAllen. It read: “Great news! We’re continuing our showing of Hamilton the Musical tonight! You’ll still see Everbrite’s listing as Canceled, but we can continue with tonight’s show! No ticket is required for entry.’
“We apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding. We look forward to seeing you and your family tonight at 6pm! ‘ the email further revealed.
Sherman contacted Door McAllen to prevent Saturday’s show. The church canceled the event on Facebook, but told Sherman in a separate email that the second screening would go ahead
Door McAllen (pictured) claimed the original producers of the musical would have allowed the show to take place on Saturday if live streaming, recording or sharing of footage or photos on social media didn’t materialize. The producers of ‘Hamilton’ are now ‘in the process of reviewing the unauthorized changes to the script to determine further action.’
Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton: The Musical, has not responded to the results of the unauthorized production
The Door McAllen later said in a statement that it was allowed to host the second show, subject to certain conditions including no live streaming, recording or sharing of footage or photos on social media.
Shane Marshall Brown, a Hamilton spokesman, told that “this limited permission is without prejudice and we reserve all rights and remedies; and we will be raising this matter with the parties behind this unauthorized production in the coming days once all facts have been properly verified.’
“The Hamilton family stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusivity and certainly LGBTQ+ rights. We are in the process of reviewing the unauthorized changes to the script to determine further action.’
has reached out to The Door McAllen for further comment.
Video of Friday’s performance was deleted from the church’s social media accounts after the cease and desist letter was received. However, some recordings have been resurfaced and shared by author and atheist activist Hemant Mehta.
In one shot, Hamilton is comforted by another character reading him from the Bible while she’s apparently going through a difficult time. He becomes convinced that “God is the only one who can help you now”.
In a separate video, Hamilton’s wife Eliza Schuyler sings: “My hope is in Jesus. If you could just give him one chance today, that would be enough.”
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
The line is to read, “What is a legacy? It plants seeds in a garden you never see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song that someone is going to sing for me.” pic.twitter.com/sTV0fLZjiR
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
The song should be:
“But I’m not afraid
I know who I married
As long as you get home at the end of the day
That would be enough” pic.twitter.com/CUitoUXQ34— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 8, 2022
More of The Door McAllen Church’s Christianized “Hamilton.”
The line should *should* be:
I’m Hercules Mulligan
Upstairs, I love it, yeah, I heard your mom say, “Come back?”
Lock up your daughters and horses, of course.
It’s hard to have sex across four corsets. pic.twitter.com/o7uMCoJlMT— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has yet to comment on the unauthorized production, is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He once read a sonnet as his acceptance speech for the 2016 Tony Awards, in which he invoked the power of love over hate in honor of the 49 people who died at an Orlando gay nightclub that year.
The eleven-time award-winning “Hamilton” made its Broadway debut in 2015. Miranda said he was inspired to write a musical about one of America’s Founding Fathers after reading his 2004 biography by Ron Chernow.
The musical will also stream on Disney+.
In response to the light being shed on the Texas church, a Hamilton spokesman said in a statement: “We want to thank our loyal fans for bringing this to our attention.