Lawyers for the creators of the record-breaking musical “Hamilton,” which remains a global hit seven years after its Broadway debut, protested an unauthorized performance by a Texas church this weekend. Church performers changed some of the lyrics and introduced Christian themes that were not part of the original.
Pastor of Door McAllen, a nondenominational Christian church in McAllen, Texas, near the Mexican border. claim on sunday “Hamilton’s team” gave the church a license to stage that version of the musical on Saturday and Sunday. , was asked to remove it, the pastor said.
The church complied, and on Sunday, “she gave me permission to continue,” the pastor said.
“I’m very grateful to Hamilton’s team. ‘Thank you for entrusting us with such a wonderful, wonderful play, Amen.’
However, “Hamilton” spokesman Shane Marshall-Brown said in a statement that the team behind the musical did not license it as an amateur or a professional, nor did it do so for the sake of the church. A lawyer representing “Hamilton” sent a cancellation notice after learning of the production, he said.
The “Hamilton” team was further haunted by a sermon by a man at the end of a church production saying that God can help people in their struggles. gay list Alongside broken marriages, drugs and alcohol. Brown said that “Hamilton” officials were unaware of the lyric changes and sermons when they allowed Saturday’s show to proceed.
Staging unauthorized performances in churches Reported by OnStage Blog.
After the church responded to a letter demanding cancellation, the “Hamilton” team said it could go ahead with another performance provided it would not be livestreamed, recorded, or posted with videos or photos of the performance. rice field. Mr Brown said the church “will never produce more work”. He added that “this limited permission” was provided “without prejudice.”
Brown said the “Hamilton” team plans to discuss “this unauthorized production” with officials in the coming days after reviewing the information.
“The ‘Hamilton’ family stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusion and certainly LGBTQ+ rights,” Brown said. “We are in the process of reviewing unauthorized changes made to the script to determine further action.”
Doa McAllen did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Roman Gutierrez, the church’s senior pastor, said in his statement: dallas morning news His church is not anti-LGBTQ and “everyone is welcome”.
Clip captured and published on Twitter by Hemant meter, the writer showed some of the rewritten lyrics. Mehta, who is based near Chicago, said in an interview that he did not participate in the play and that the video was sent to him by someone who requested anonymity.
“Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” lyrics “I help raise hundreds of children / I can watch them grow” became: “I am introducing Jesus to hundreds of children as they grow up.”
Here are the original lyrics of “That’ll Be Enough”:That is changed to: “But I’m not afraid / My hope is in Jesus / Give him a chance today / That’s enough.”
The scene where Alexander Hamilton, who was not in the original, repents of his sins and accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, Added.
“If the local theater did exactly what they did, without the gospel message at the end and without the Christian proselytizing part of the show, there’s no conversation about whether this would be okay,” Mehta said. Mr. said, “Of course it’s not OK.”
Other lyrics contain most of the profanity and reference to sexual intercourseThe famous opening line calling Hamilton “bastard, orphan, son of a whore” was changed to “scoundrel, orphan, son of a whore.”
The church released a clip of the performance its YouTube channelhad less than 4,000 subscribers and most videos had hundreds of views.
US Copyright Law Gives Permission to the Church Exemption This allows copyrighted music to be played during religious services. Exemptions do not apply to non-service performances.
“It’s stealing from the creative genius of the people who made the original,” Mehta said. “It’s not something that happens overnight. I’m sure a lot of people knew what they were doing months ago.”
