'Hilarious' Unauthorized Production of 'Hamilton' Goes Viral: '#Scamilton'

Videos from the unauthorized production of Hamilton are going viral on social media.

The Door Christian Fellowship Ministries—located in McAllen, Texas—put on two showings of the production before it was slammed for not obtaining the rights and changing key lines in the script.

Now, people have been posting clips on TikTok using the hashtags #Scamilton and #IllegalHamilton.

In one video, which has been viewed more than three million times, and liked over 348,000 times, three women sang "The Schuyler Sisters" off-key.

"Daddy said not to go downtown, like I said you're free to go, but look around, look around, the revolution's happening in New York," the ladies belted out before repeating "New York" out of tune.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Blue Suit Netflix 'Halftime' Premiere
Lin-Manuel Miranda attends the Tribeca Festival opening night and premiere of Netflix's "Halftime" on June 08, 2022 in New York City. The "Hamilton" creator recently spoke out after his play was being showed illegally in... Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix/Getty Images

"Their New York needs a bit of work work," one person commented, while a second said the actresses "were so good alone" before asking, "What happened?"

"The gasp is sending me," TikToker Mr. William Sprek, who boasts 2.2 million followers on the platform laughed, referring to the person watching the faux paus in the clip.

Another post showed an actor seemingly singing the wrong song, using the lyrics to "Oceans Rise Empires Fall" before switching to "You'll Be Back." During a brief pause in between the tunes, he appeared to be chewing gum.

"The silence is so hilarious to me," someone else wrote, while a separate user chimed in, "It's the fully being off beat for me."

Those behind the play seemingly tweaked various aspects of it, allegedly pushing religious views and condemning homosexuality.

Writer Hemant Mehta published an alleged sermon that concluded the show. It's been viewed on Twitter more than 311,000 times.

"[God] knows exactly what you've gone through, you've gone through maybe broken marriages, maybe you struggle with alcohol, with drugs, homosexuality, maybe you struggle with other things in life, your finances, whatever, relationships," the speaker said. "God can help you tonight.

On August 10, Hamilton's creator Lin-Manuel Miranda spoke out.

"Grateful to all of you who reached out about this illegal, unauthorized production. Now lawyers do their work," the playwright, 42, tweeted to his 3.6 million followers, hinting that legal action is being taken.

"And always grateful to the @dramatistsguild, who have the backs of writers everywhere, be it your first play or your fiftieth."

Hamilton premiered in New York City on January 20, 2015. It follows the story of United States founding father Alexander Hamilton and the country's beginnings. The play has earned 16 Tony nominations and won 11, including for Best Musical.

Newsweek previously reached out to an unnamed party at the Door Christian Fellowship McAllen Church who said, "We are not able to give a statement at this time."

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Megan Cartwright is Newsweek's Deputy Entertainment Editor, based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. pop culture and entertainment ... Read more

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