The musical Hamilton is likely the most successful performance of its kind.
Videos by American Songwriter
Therefore, it has many fans of the production. Those fans rushed to stop a recent “unauthorized” performance of the historical show after a Texas church put on its own version that, critics say, included homophobia.
The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen, Texas received a lot of criticism lately for two reasons: performing the musical without the rights and also for doing so by changing the text, including adding religious messages, and finishing with a speech that offered alleged homophobic views.
Hemant Mehta shared some of the church’s altered lyrics on social media. One change includes the song “That Would Be Enough.” The original lyrics go, 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” and they were changed to “But I’m not afraid/I know who I married/My hope is in Jesus/If you could just give him a chance/That would be enough.
Another change occurred in the song “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” The lyrics were altered from I help to raise hundreds of children. I get to see them growing up to I introduce hundreds of children to Jesus as they’re growing up
During the August 5 performance at Door Christian Fellowship Ministries, a pastor gave a sermon that included, “I don’t know what you’re going through,” noting drugs and homosexuality and adding, “God can help you.”
A spokesperson for Hamilton shared a statement with Newsweek, which read, “Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church. On Saturday, August 6, we were made aware of the unauthorized staging of HAMILTON by The Door Church in McAllen, Texas that took place on Friday, August 5, and their plans for additional performances. 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.”
The statement added, “We would like to thank our devoted fans for bringing this to our attention.”
An unnamed person at Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church told Newsweek, “We are not able to give a statement at this time.”
The Tony-winning Hamilton premiered on Broadway in 2015. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it’s become a phenomenon with a largely all-POC cast.
Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Getty Images
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