Lin-Manuel Miranda responded to a Texas church's unauthorized use of his hit Broadway musical "Hamilton."
The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries of McAllen came under fire after it emerged that the "Hamilton" team on Broadway had not granted it a license to perform the musical, which was staged over the weekend with unapproved messaging and a sermon that compared being gay with having an addiction, according to multiple reports.
Miranda addressed the ordeal Thursday on Twitter by sharing a statement released by the Dramatists Guild.
"Grateful to all of you who reached out about this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers do their work," he wrote. "And always grateful to the @dramatistsguild, who have the backs of writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth."
In its statement, the Dramatists Guild, which represents playwrights, composers and lyricists, condemned the Door McAllen Church.
"In addition to performing the show without a license, the Door McAllen Church changed lyrics and added text without permission," the statement said. "We hold up the Door McAllen Church's brazen infringement to shine a light on the problematic pattern of some theatrical organizations performing authors' work without a license and rewriting the text without authorial consent. No organization, professional, amateur, or religious, is exempt from these laws."
The statement continued: "No writer's work, whether they are a student who has just written their first play, or Lin-Manuel Miranda, can be performed without their permission. And it is never okay to change the words, lyrics, or notes, without their express consent."
A cease-and-desist letter from the production's attorneys was sent to the church Saturday demanding "the immediate removal" of all photos and videos of the show from the internet, according to Forbes.
The church complied and producers allowed the church’s performance on Saturday to move forward if no recording or photos of the performance were taken. The church was also prohibited from any further productions.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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