A church in the US has apologized to Lin Manuel Miranda for rewriting the hit musical Hamilton with a Bible-themed plot without his permission. The lyrics of Hamilton were altered by The Door Church in McAllen, Texas, to incorporate allusions to Jesus and Christianity. Mr. Miranda, who earlier this month threatened legal action, denounced the revisions. Now, the church will cover unnamed losses.
The church’s version included a scene in which Alexander Hamilton repents along with a sermon encouraging those “struggling” with substance misuse and homosexuality to turn to God for aid in addition to referencing Jesus Christ. Following the performance earlier this month, the Hamilton production team issued a cease-and-desist letter and launched a protest. Hamilton’s production crew “stands for tolerance, compassion, diversity, and most definitely LGBTQ rights,” according to a spokeswoman.
The Texas play’s promoters were praised by Mr. Miranda, who then said he would “let attorneys do their work.” The church admitted in an Instagram post on Tuesday that it had never been permitted to “create, stage, copy or change” Hamilton. The statement continued, “Our ministry will use this moment as a learning opportunity about protected artistic works and intellectual property,” The church pledged never to stage the production once more. In addition to paying undisclosed damages, it promised to erase all recordings and photos.
According to a Hamilton representative who was quoted by the New York Times, the South Texas Equality Project, a collection of organizations that promotes the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ-friendly companies in South Texas, will get the damages. The 2015 Broadway play Hamilton chronicles the life of US founding father Alexander Hamilton. The show, which debuted in the UK and the West End of London in 2017, has since garnered numerous accolades. One of the most streamed movies of the year was a stage production of the musical that Disney+ released on film in 2020.
