Texas church to pay damages for illegal Hamilton production

[mahatmakanejeeves]

NEWS // TEXAS

Texas church to pay damages for illegal Hamilton production

Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News
Aug. 24, 2022
Updated: Aug. 24, 2022 1:52 p.m.

A church in McAllen has issued an apology for staging two unauthorized performances of “Hamilton” that were altered to promote Christian themes and laced with homophobic teachings.

The Door McAllen also said it will pay unspecified damages after lawyers for the hit musical demanded that they halt performances.

Clips from the altered play went viral on Twitter this month. The characters Alexander and Eliza Schuyler Hamilton talked about how Jesus “saved” them. After one of the performances, Pastor Victor Lopez gave a sermon stating that God could help people with their homosexuality and their issues with drugs and alcohol.

In a statement posted on the church’s Instagram account, the church apologized and said it staged the performances without permission.

{snip}

The message was written by head pastor Roman Gutierrez, the New York Times reported. The church said that it agreed never to stage the performance again and destroy any recordings of it.

{snip}

[e-mail]

“Hamilton” Team To Donate Damages From Church’s Anti-Gay Production To Local TX LGBTQ Rights Group
August 24, 2022

Rolling Stone reports:

Weeks after putting on a production of Hamilton without permission and lacing it with homophobic teachings, a church in McAllen, Texas has apologized. The church will also pay damages to Hamilton‘s creators. Hamilton will donate the money to support a local gay rights organization.

On Tuesday, nondenominational church The Door McAllen issued a statement on Instagram apologizing for its actions in putting on the play. In the statement, the church’s pastor Roman Gutierrez “personally apologized” to Lin-Manuel Miranda and the people behind the iconic Broadway musical for using its lyrics and dialogue and changing them without permission.

“We acknowledge there are lawful avenues to obtain a license to stage properties which we did not pursue,” the pastor wrote. “And it is never permissible to alter an artistic work such as Hamilton without legal permission.”

Read the full article.

{snip}

[tanyev]

1. Wow, must have been some really good lawyers that put the fear of God in them.