Not only did a Texas church put on an illegal production of the Broadway musical Hamilton last weekend — by adding proselytizing Christian lines that were not included in the original script — but the botched production was then followed by an anti-LGBTQ sermon given by the church's pastor, likening homosexuality to addiction and sin. (See clip below.)
One of the rewritten lines included, "Jesus gives me the strength to pull through – when I needed him most he was right on time," said by character Eliza Hamilton, according to a tweet by Hamilton spokesperson Shane Marshall Brown (see below).
The Hamilton team has since issued a cease and desist.
"Hamilton does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church," Brown said to The Washington Post. "We issued a cease-and-desist letter for the unauthorized use of Hamilton's intellectual property, demanding the immediate removal of all videos and images from previous productions from the internet, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, their own website, and elsewhere."
From The Washington Post:
The version of "Hamilton" produced by the Door McAllen and RGV Productions that was performed and live-streamed Friday and Saturday included scenes in which the characters Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler Hamilton talked about how Jesus "saved" them, according to videos of the show from author and podcast host Hemant Mehta. After one of the performances, Pastor Victor Lopez gave a sermon with language that compared being gay to alcohol and drug addiction, according to the OnStage Blog, the first to report about the show. …
Although large parts of the church's take on "Hamilton" remain the same, the inclusion of biblical references presents some significant differences. In one scene, the character of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton notes that "Jesus gives me the strength to pull through," even though it is not in the original production. At one point, the character of Alexander Hamilton is asked to pray and "receive Jesus Christ in your heart right now," according to video posted to social media by Mehta.
"Do you not only confess but repent of all of your sin? Do you accept him as your Lord and savior?" Hamilton is asked, according to the video. "Heavenly father, I pray for Alexander, I pray that you bring him peace of mind, that you would restore his family and marriage. In Jesus' mighty name, I pray."