Lin Manuel Miranda is suing the creators of the now-viral #Scamilton, a Texas church that mounted an unauthorized production of "Hamilton."
Videos of the production went viral on TikTok after a user spotted that the Tony-winning musical's finale song "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story," was heavily altered.
The entire musical was ripped off, even the production design and costumes were very much alike - almost like "Hamilton" actually gave them license to mount the entire production.
Lin Manuel Miranda Pursuing Legal Action on #Scamilton Creators
In a recent Tweet, Lin Manuel Miranda revealed that are currently pursuing legal action on the unauthorized production of his Tony-winning musical "Hamilton."
Grateful to all of you who reached out about this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers do their work.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 10, 2022
And always grateful to the @dramatistsguild, who have the backs of writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth. 1/2 https://t.co/yMtM3z9crI
Details and specifics on the lawsuit are not yet revealed to the public as of this writing, but the press release sheds light on what would be the trajectory of the legal action the team is pursuing.
The Dramatists Guild, the national trade association of playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists of the United States has expressed their condemnation of the now-viral "Hamilton" rip-off.
"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 reads.
Meanwhile, the "Hamilton" team has clarified that they did not issue any licenses for the Door McAllen Church to stage the production. Last week, the church initially thanked the crew for giving them the rights to produce, only to be debunked later on.
However, "Hamilton" reps have granted authority to the church to perform their music on its second day but with heavy restrictions.
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#Scamilton Angers 'Hamilton' Fans Over Anti-LGBTQ Propaganda
Aside from the outright intellectual property stealing, "Hamilton" fans are fuming over the production's alteration of lyrics and messaging.
The Door McAllen Church has notably censored lyrics on "That Would Be Enough," and "Say No To This," among many others.
Ooooh fix it, Jesus. 😬🤭😂🤣🙃
— Blackety Black ✊🏾 (@AllFlatsNoDrums) August 8, 2022
Context: A church decided to put on a religious remix of Hamilton without a license to do so and the result has been hilarious reaction videos on TikTok. #Scamilton pic.twitter.com/Tfv1p3Kf6A
Particularly in "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story," it was very apparent that the church has added Jesus Christ to the text material, changing the overall messaging of the musical.
#Scamilton is what happens when you don’t allow the gays to be involved in theatre
— Jamie Redman (he/they) (@jamesredmanuk) August 14, 2022
At the end of the first production, the show even had a pastor sermon that contained anti-LGBTQ messaging, which the official production has spoken against on many occasions.
The Door McAllen Church has not yet issued any statements or responses on the alleged infringment issue.
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