DALLAS — The McAllen church that staged two unauthorized performances of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical "Hamilton" has apologized and will pay an unspecified amount in damages.
The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries, a nondenominational church in the border city, posted a statement on its Instagram account on Tuesday morning, acknowledging that it “did not ask for, or receive, a license from the producers or creators of Hamilton to produce, stage, replicate or alter any part of Hamilton; nor did we seek prior permission to alter Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work by changing the music, the lyrics, deleting songs, and adding dialogue.”
The church also apologized to Miranda, the musical’s producers and others who contributed to "Hamilton."
In performances Aug. 5-6, the church edited several scenes in Miranda’s musical to incorporate biblical themes. The performances were staged by McAllen-based RGV Productions.
After one of the performances, a pastor at the church gave a sermon that touched controversially on sexual orientation: “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.”
Calls to the church Tuesday were not answered.
A spokesman for "Hamilton" issued a statement Tuesday afternoon that said the production would donate all damages to the South Texas Equality Project, a coalition that supports the local LGBTQ community.
After the church’s performances, questions emerged about whether the church had legal permission to adapt the play.
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News on Aug. 6, pastor Roman Gutierrez said the church is not anti-LGBTQ and “everyone is always welcome,” adding that he did acquire legal permission from the team behind "Hamilton" to produce the church’s show.
But a spokesperson for Miranda’s "Hamilton" denied that permission had been granted to the The Door church.
Tuesday’s statement, which appeared to be authored by Gutierrez, said, “there are lawful avenues to obtain a license to stage properties which we did not pursue.”
In its apology, the church said it “will never stage the performance again and will destroy any and all video or sound recordings and images of the unauthorized performances or rehearsals, and request that all our members do the same. Lastly, we will pay damages for our actions.”
It continued, “I recognize as the Pastor of the church that I have an obligation and responsibility to follow the law and educate our community about these protocols. Our ministry will use this moment as a learning opportunity about protected artistic works and intellectual property.”
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