Everyone remembers the musical phenomenon of Hamilton, a retelling of Alexander Hamilton and the founding fathers of America. The musical was so successful that PBS released Hamilton’s America — a documentary about the musical’s inception and creation. But what if we took that musical, added some ‘Christian-friendly’ sermons, and performed it without Disney’s permission? Well, ladies, gentlemen, and those in-between, I present to you, Hamilton: The Musical, performed by The Door McAllen Church in Texas.
The Door McAllen Church has made, what fans seemed to call, an “illegal production” of Hamilton: The Musical. The performance was on YouTube before it was removed. However, those who got a glimpse witnessed what they described as a “cringe and illegal rendition” of the beloved musical. Apparently, all Hamilton needed was Jesus.
Fans reacted to the performance on social media on how illegal this performance was, the amount of anti-LGBT sermons, and how Hamilton was ‘saved’ by Jesus Christ and God himself.
And it’s not just the added Christian sermons. The church dared to change the lyrics to some of the songs to fit the narrative that Hamilton and co needed “God in their life” to be redeemed and loved by all.
@arstep9 #duet with @scienceiscooool she carried fr🥱 #hamilton #musicaltheatre #theatrekid #theatre #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – no
This musical caught the attention of multiple people who didn’t know that this musical exist. And like popular productions that tend to be inaccessible due to lack of recordings (looking at you Wicked), fans began to seek bootlegs and “illegal” downloads of the “illegal musical production”. And considering how clips are circulating the internet, a full version should exist from the depths of the internet.
And to add more on how this Church tried to avoid getting caught thanks to it becoming viral, TikTok users have reported the church telling its attendees on Eventbrite to “still come to the show”, even if the event page says it’s “canceled”.
But no one is safe from the law, especially if it involves copyright. A recent report from the Sacramento Bee said that Hamilton’s Attorneys released a cease and desist to the church. They told them to take down everything, including photos, videos, and event listings, like it never happened. However, according to TikTok user @sweatyoracle, the church was allowed to do another performance. The only condition was that no money was to be received, and they needed to change the credits to the original team.
Even if you missed out on the full recording that was uploaded on YouTube, excerpts of it exist so you can relive the chaos and cringe of this “illegal” rendition of Hamilton.