MCALLEN, Texas — Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy and Pulitizer Prize-winning creator of "Hamilton" shared his first public reaction to a Texas church's unlicensed production of the hit musical on Wednesday.
In a tweet, Miranda condemned the production as "illegal, unauthorized" and thanked fans for making him aware of The Door McAllen's actions.
Miranda tweeted, "Now lawyers do their work."
The Door McAllen could face legal penalties for copyright infringement by producing the show without permission and making significant changes to the musical's script to include religious references.
The church posted a full-length video to YouTube after their Aug. 5 performance. Clips from the unauthorized production captured the attention of theatre fans on social media.
A spokesperson for "Hamilton" said a cease-and-desist letter was sent to the church on Saturday demanding all videos and pictures relating to the production be removed from online platforms.
After responding to the letter, The Door was allowed to continue with its Aug. 6 performance under the conditions that it wasn't live-streamed or recorded, and that no photos or videos be posted online, according to the spokesperson.
The Dramatists Guild, a union representing playwrights, composers, librettists, and lyricists writing for the stage, issued a statement Tuesday also condemning The Door's homemade "Hamilton."
"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 with authorial consent," a statement said.
"No organization, professional, amateur, or religious, is exempt from these laws," the statement continued.
In his tweet Wednesday, Miranda closed by saying, "And always grateful to the Dramatists Guild, who have the backs of writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth."
The Door changed several lyrics in "Hamilton" to reference religious beliefs.
In one modified song, according to videos posted online, the character Eliza Hamilton sang to the character of Alexander:
"My hope is in Jesus.
If you could just give him a chance today...
That would be enough."
After its Aug. 5 performance, a sermon included a pastor's comments comparing homosexuality to addiction and encouraged people "struggling" with homosexuality to seek guidance from God.
Pastor Roman Gutierrez previously told the Dallas Morning News that "all are welcome" and the church is not anti-LGBTQ.
During his Sunday sermon, Gutierrez thanked the "Hamilton" team for "giving [the church] license to perform [their] version of "Hamilton," which the "Hamilton" team unequivocally denied.
"'Hamilton' does not grant amateur or professional licenses for any stage productions and did not grant one to The Door Church."