Homophobic Production of Hamilton Shut Down in Texas
Photo by Sudan Ouyang on Unsplash
Earlier this month, a church in Texas put on an illegal production of the broadway musical “Hamilton,” altering the show’s original content to include biblical references and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments.
The production, staged by The Door McAllen, a nondenominational church in McAllen, Texas, quickly went viral on Twitter, sparking outrage from both fans of the show and the creators themselves.
Clips from the unauthorized musical show characters like Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler Hamilton discussing how they were “saved” by Jesus Christ and encouraging repenting for their sins. Several songs were altered to include lyrics preaching Christian themes to the tune of shrill harmonies alongside awkward staging. Following the show, Pastor Roman Gutierrez gave a homophobic sermon comparing being gay to drug and alcohol addiction.
In response to the criticism online, Gutierrez claimed the church was not anti-LGBTQ+, and received legal permission to produce the show, though this was later proven to be false.
Upon hearing about the production, the “Hamilton” team issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding that all images and videos of the show be removed from the internet, according to spokesperson Shane Marshall Brown. “Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church,” Brown told The Washington Post.
The church’s rendition of the hit musical struck a chord of irony, considering “Hamilton’s” author Lin-Manuel Miranda and the show’s creative team’s outspoken support of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2016, the musical made headlines when the cast called out then Vice President-elect Mike Pence at a performance, expressing their concerns that his administration would not “protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights.”
“The Hamilton family stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusivity and certainly LGBTQ+ rights,” said Brown, solidifying “Hamilton’s” stance on the issue.
Not only did The Door McAllen Church break the law by producing their derogatory version of the musical, but they twisted the original messages of the show: diversity, legacy, and acceptance. “Hamilton” was meant to highlight the contributions of a diverse group of people, particularly immigrants like Hamilton, to the founding and development of America. By distorting the original text, the Texas church used a story meant to bring people together to preach divisive and hateful views.
On August 23, several weeks after the production, the church apologized via Instagram, confessing that they did not receive a license to perform the show and acknowledging The Door McAllen Church broke established copyright laws.
“We respect the copyrights of Hamilton"s author and contributors,” part of the statement read. “These copyrights are protected by federal law. We acknowledge there are lawful avenues to obtain a license to stage properties which we did not pursue. And it is never permissible to alter an artistic work such as Hamilton without legal permission.”
In addition to the apology, The Door McAllen Church agreed to “destroy any and all video or sound recordings and images of the unauthorized performances or rehearsals,” and pay damages to the producers of Hamilton.
In a turn of poetic justice, a spokesperson from Hamilton announced that all damages paid by the church will be donated to the South Texas Equality Project (STEP), a coalition of organizations dedicated to the advocacy and visibility of the LGBTQ community.
“Grateful to all of you who reached out about this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers do their work,” Miranda tweeted on Wednesday.