“Stop running from God, Alexander…His Word says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and [wants] just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us.”
Don’t you remember this line from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize winner Hamilton? Well, neither does Miranda.
The line is from an unauthorized, “Christianized” version of the musical by RGV Productions, in association with The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen, Texas. It was performed and streamed live on August 5. There was also reportedly a second performance the following night, and Miranda isn’t too pleased.
In a tweet yesterday, the creator of the Grammy- and Tony-winning musical expressed his gratitude to “all of you who have come forward about this illegal, unauthorized production… it’s your first play or your fiftieth.”
Miranda underscored his statement with, “Now lawyers are doing their jobs,” above a retweet of a Dramatists’ Guild conviction.
Thank you to all of you who have come forward regarding this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers are doing their job.
And always thankful for that @dramatic guild, who are endorsed by writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth. 1/2 https://t.co/yMtM3z9crI— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 10, 2022
The Church’s changes went well beyond the one scene, replacing many lines in Miranda’s work with references to Jesus.
In an example these lines:
“But I’m not afraid
I know who I married
As long as you get home at the end of the day
That would be enough”
Will be changed to these lines:
“But I’m not afraid
My hope is in Jesus
If you could only give him a chance at the end of the day
That would be enough”
You can check it out right below, followed by other examples.
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
The song should be:
“But I’m not afraid
I know who I married
As long as you get home at the end of the day
That would be enough” pic.twitter.com/CUitoUXQ34— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 8, 2022
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
I’m pretty sure that scene where Alexander Hamilton finds Jesus wasn’t in the original series. pic.twitter.com/wOXyTWeqyA
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 8, 2022
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
I don’t remember this scene in the original production. pic.twitter.com/k1vA8CClhq
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
The line is to read, “What is a legacy? It plants seeds in a garden you never see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song that someone is going to sing for me.” pic.twitter.com/sTV0fLZjiR
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022
More from The Door McAllen church’s illegal Christianized “Hamilton.”
The line should read: “I help raise hundreds of children. I get to see them grow up.” pic.twitter.com/r2gAojNyLx
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) August 7, 2022
At the end of the show, in case the revised message wasn’t clear enough, Victor Lopez, associate pastor of the church, delivered a sermon comparing homosexuality to drug addiction.
“Maybe you’re struggling with alcohol, drugs, homosexuality,” he told the audience, “maybe you’re struggling with other things in life, your finances, whatever, relationships. God can help you tonight.”
On Tuesday, Shane Marshall Brown, a spokesman for Hamilton, made the following statement to USA Today:
Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional stage production licenses and has not granted any to The Door Church. We have issued a cease and desist order for unauthorized use of Hamilton’s intellectual property and have requested the immediate removal of all videos and images from previous productions from the internet, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, their own website and elsewhere.
The Hamilton family stands for tolerance, compassion, inclusivity and certainly LGBTQ+ rights. We are in the process of reviewing the unauthorized changes to the script to determine further action.