Hamiltonon Broadway.Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty
A Texas church is making amends after its controversial staging ofHamiltonresulted in backlash from the team behind the hit musical.
“On behalf of The Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church, I would like to personally apologize to the creator ofHamilton,Lin-Manuel Miranda, the producers ofHamilton, and the numerous others who contributed their intellectual property toHamilton, for staging an unauthorized production ofHamiltonthat infringed on the rights and copyrights of many,” read a statement from the church’s pastor, Roman Gutierrez, posted onInstagramand on the church’swebsite.
According to clips shared online, the church, located in south Texas, edited language and added religious lines and a concluding sermon to the production. It staged two shows earlier this month beforeHamiltonreps issued a cease-and-desist letter for the unauthorized use of its intellectual property.
Brown said they “were made aware of the unauthorized staging ofHamilton” after its first performance.
TheHamiltonteam told The Door they could “proceed” with the already-scheduled second show “on the conditions that it was not live-streamed or recorded; no photos or videos of the performance be posted; they not mount any further productions; this limited permission was without prejudice, and we reserved all rights and remedies; and we would be discussing this matter with the parties behind this unauthorized production within the coming days once all facts are properly vetted.”
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On its Facebook page, The Door describes itself as a “Bible-based, Spirit-filled, nondenominational family of believers.”
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According to Brown, “The Hamilton family stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusivity and certainly LGBTQ+ rights. We are in the process of reviewing the unauthorized changes made to the script to determine further action. We would like to thank our devoted fans for bringing this to our attention.”
A spokesperson for The Door did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Gutierrez toldThe Dallas Morning Newsin a statement that The Door is not anti-LGBTQ and “everyone is always welcome.”
source: people.com
