Sunday 14 August 2022 05:01 AM Lin-Manuel Miranda speaks out against 'illegal, unauthorized production' of ... trends now
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda has now spoken out publicly against the Texas church that performed an unauthorized version of his hit Broadway musical.
The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries in McAllen, Texas, hosted two showings of the adapted production last weekend that added references from the Bible that were never in the original script.
In a statement posted on his Twitter and Instagram pages, Miranda shared his gratitude for Hamilton supporters, along with a declaration that he now has his legal team on the matter.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, 42, is speaking out publicly for the first time against the Texas church that performed two unauthorized performances of hit hit musical Hamilton
'Grateful to all of you who reached out about this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers do their work,' Miranda, 42, wrote on Wednesday.
He added, 'And always grateful to the @dramatistsguild, who have the backs of writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth.'
Producers of the original Hamilton production set in motion a cease-and-desist letter to the church last week.
Miranda promised legal action against The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries in McAllen, Texas, after it hosted two showings of the adapted production that added references from the Bible that were never in the original script
The Dramatists Guild, which represents playwrights, composers and lyricists, publicly condemned the Door McAllen Church in a statement shared on Tuesday.
'In addition to performing the show without a license, the Door McAllen Church changed lyrics and added text without permission,' the statement read.
'We hold up the Door McAllen Church's brazen infringement to shine a light on the problematic pattern of some theatrical organizations performing authors' work without a license and rewriting the text without authorial consent. No organization, professional, amateur, or religious, is exempt from these laws.'
The organization went on to declare that no writer's work, be it a student or big star like Miranda, 'can be performed without their permission,' adding that 'it's never okay to change the words, lyrics, or notes, without their express consent.'
Homophobic rhetoric: Victor Lopez, a pastor at Door McAllen in McAllen, Texas, gave a sermon after Friday's show, which included a segment where he compared homosexuality to drug and alcohol addiction
The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries produced and livestreamed its rendition of Hamilton last Friday and Saturday.
Those who worked on the original musical and their supporters have since been sharing examples of how the script was altered to feature more biblical references.
In one case, highlighted by Deadline, the original lines read: 'But I'm not afraid - I know who I married - So long as you come home at the end of the day - That would be enough.'
In the church's revised version, the two middle lines were changed with Jesus references: 'But I'm not afraid - My hope is in Jesus - If you could just give him a chance at the end of the day - That would be enough.'
Script changes: Several passages of the Texas church's adaption of play were altered with biblical references, as mentioned by Hamilton playwright Howard Sherman on Twitter
More script changes: Supporters of Manuel and the original Hamilton production shared a number of instances where the script was changed in the church's version; Manuel is seen after a performance of Hamilton in Puerto Rico in January 2019
Hamilton writer Howard Sherman pointed out another example of how the church revised the script.
'Jesus gives me strength to pull through when I needed him most he was right on time' is not part of @HamiltonMusical but The Door McAllen put those words in Eliza's mouth last night and they plan to do it again tonight. Tacked on sermon talks about sin. This is illegal.
The McAllen church performed the musical twice — on August 5 and then again on August 6 — with the first performance live-streamed.
The church's pastor, Victor Lopez, also held a sermon after Friday's show, which included a segment where he compared homosexuality to drug and alcohol addiction.
'He knows exactly what you've gone through,' Lopez tells churchgoers, referring to God. 'You've maybe gone through broken marriages. Maybe you have struggled with alcohol, with drugs, with
