A bizarre, unauthorized staging of Lin-Manuel Miranda's megahit musical "Hamilton" took place at a Texas church - and it's now up to the lawyers to handle it.
I'm grateful to all of you who reached out to me regarding this illegal, unauthorized production," Miranda wrote on Twitter. "Now lawyers can do their jobs."
The Dallas Morning News reported that the staging of Hamilton at the Door Christian Fellowship Church in McAllen, Texas, included biblical themes and a sermon that compared homosexuality to addiction
Whether you struggle with alcohol, drugs, homosexuality, your finances, or other things in life, God can help you tonight," a church pastor said in the sermon. He wants to forgive you.
It is not anti-LGBT, the pastor told the outlet, and "everyone is welcome." Gutierrez claimed to have legal permission to produce the show, but a Hamilton rep denied that claim.
"Hamilton" was tweaked at Door Christian Fellowship church to include biblical themes and a sermon at the end comparing homosexuality to addiction.
"Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses to stage productions, and The Door Church did not receive one," the spokesperson said. The church was sent a cease-and-desist letter, he said.
Several theatrical organizations perform authors' work without a license and rewrite the text without author consent," the Guild wrote.
It is important to note that these laws apply to all organizations, whether they are professional, amateur or religious.