A southern Texas church has been handed a cease and desist letter by the production company behind Broadway hit Hamilton after a copycat production was staged with an anti-LGBT+ message.
Social media posts showed the Door Christian Fellowship church in McAllen, a city in southern Texas, advertised and staged its copycat Hamilton play on Friday last week and again on Saturday.
As OnStage reported, The Door allegedly live-streamed its production of Hamilton without permission. Nor did The Door and a production company, RGV, seek permission to adapt parts of the play – a fact the church has denied, according to Dallas Morning News.
The two-hour long production – which was followed by a sermon – also contained biblical messages not included in playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.
A pastor allegedly told an audience after Friday’s performance: “Maybe you struggle with alcohol, with drugs, with homosexuality, maybe you struggle with other things in life, your finances, whatever, God can help you tonight. He wants to forgive you for your sins”.
While it remains unclear whether or not copyright was in fact infringed by the church’s Hamilton production, the company behind the Broadway hit issued a rebuke of the play and anti-LGBT+ messages.
“Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church,” a Hamilton spokesperson told The Independent.
A cease and desist letter was also sent to the church on Saturday and Hamilton said it had asked the church and the production company, RGV, to avoid posting pictures or videos of the second performance online.
That came after clips from the first performance were leaked on social media. An online advert for the Hamilton play at McAllen was also reportedly removed.
The spokesperson added that Hamilton would be “discussing this matter with the parties behind this unauthorised 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,” the Hamilton spokesperson added, denying claims the church asked for permission.
Responding to that criticism, The Door told the Dallas Morning News that it was not anti-LGBT+ and “everyone is always welcome”, despite the inclusion of anti-LGBT+ rhetoric in the sermon following last week’s performance.
Dallas Morning News reported that the church said it had asked for permission prior to its performance, which Hamilton denies.
Howard Sherman, a director for the Arts Integrity Institute and columnist for The Stage magazine, was among the first to report on the production and sermon. He wrote rote on social media: “LGBTQ lives are NOT sinful. Addictions are not sins but illnesses.”
“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 theatre and they cannot be allowed to take artists’ work for their own ends,” he continued. “I respect all faiths, but I cannot respect The Door McAllen for stealing material to serve their own purposes.”
According to OnStage, churches in the US are generally free to use copyrighted songs during religious services although such exemptions do not cover entire works such as plays or operas – even when a sermon is included.
A post shared by Mr Sherman suggested the second performance of the The Door McAllen performance went ahead on Saturday despite an online listing suggested it was cancelled. That was allegedly with permission from Hamilton.
The Independent has approached Hamilton for further comment. The Door McAllen could not be reached for comment.
