A church in McAllen, Texas is facing backlash for its rendition of Lin-Manuel Miranda's popular musical "Hamilton," which an official spokesperson for the Tony Award-winning play says was never authorized as the church initially claimed.
The McAllen show, produced by RGV Productions and The Door Christian Fellowship and performed on Aug. 5 and 6, altered the text of Miranda's original Pulitzer Prize-winning musical to include biblical references and even added a 15-minute-long anti-LGBTQ sermon at the conclusion of the show, according to OnStage Blog.
In the sermon about redemption, a pastor states: "Maybe you struggle with alcohol, with drugs, with homosexuality, maybe you struggle with other things in your life, your finances, whatever. God can help you tonight. He wants to forgive you for your sins."
This is how The Door McAllen church concluded its illegal production of Hamilton: with a sermon demonizing homosexuality. pic.twitter.com/FXpw8ycvbb
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022Other newly added scenes include the character Eliza Schuyler Hamilton noting that "Jesus gives me the strength to pull through" and shows the titular character Alexander Hamilton, just before the song "It's Quiet Uptown," being asked if he would like pray and "receive Jesus Christ in your heart right now."
"Do you not only confess but repent of all of your sin? Do you accept him as your Lord and savior?" Hamilton is asked in the new scene. "Heavenly father, I pray for Alexander, I pray that you bring him peace of mind, that you would restore his family and marriage. In Jesus' mighty name, I pray."
More from The Door McAllen church's illegal Christianized "Hamilton."
I don't remember this scene in the original production. pic.twitter.com/k1vA8CClhq
You don’t remember the part of ‘Hamilton’ where Alexander is *saved* right before “It’s Quiet Uptown”?
Thankfully the folks at the Door McAllen added that part in for you…🙄
(This is from their performance last night btw. You know, the one they said was cancelled…) pic.twitter.com/CCkOPtkTlY
Another scene changes the lyrics in "The World Was Wide Enough" from "What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me," to "What is a legacy? It's knowing you repented and accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ that sets men free. You sent your sinless son of man on Calvary to die for me!"
More from The Door McAllen church's illegal Christianized "Hamilton."
The line is supposed to be: "What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me." pic.twitter.com/sTV0fLZjiR
The adapted scenes, including the new sermon likening being gay to an addiction, swiftly sparked criticism online, including from Howard Sherman, a theater writer and interim managing director at Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York.
"LGBTQ lives are NOT sinful. Addictions are not sins but illnesses," Sherman wrote on Facebook. "This church cannot be allowed to deploy 'Hamilton' as a tool to spread messages that are contrary to the messages of Hamilton, of musicals, of theater and they cannot be allowed to take artists' work for their own ends."
Dozens of comments, which have since been limited on The Door McAllen's Facebook page, accuse the church of stealing. One person commented: "ummm - how about THOU SHALT NOT STEAL HAMILTON?"
In a statement obtained by the Dallas Morning News, pastor Roman Gutierrez denied that the church was anti-LGBTQ, saying "everyone is always welcome." He also claimed he had acquired legal permission from the team behind "Hamilton" to produce the church's show. However, Gutierrez noted in a Sunday sermon that the church had received a legal request to remove clips of the performance published online to promote the show.
In a statement issued Monday, Shane Marshall Brown, a spokesperson for "Hamilton" in New York, denied Gutierrez's claims, saying it was "unaware of this unauthorized staging of Hamilton."
"Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church," Brown said. "We issued a cease-and-desist letter for the unauthorized use of Hamilton's intellectual property, demanding the immediate removal of all videos and images from previous productions from the internet, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, their own website and elsewhere."
Brown explained to the Post that the "Hamilton" team informed the the church they could continue with Saturday's show as long as it was not live-streamed and no photos or videos were taken and posted online. Brown added they would be "discussing this matter with the parties behind this unauthorized production within the coming days once all facts are properly vetted."
"We would like to thank our devoted fans for bringing this to our attention," Brown said.
The Door Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Other recent shows from RGV Productions include the Despicable Me Play, A Christmas Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast Live Musical Play, and Elf Live Theatrical Play.
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