The Drama Book Shop will reopen at a new space on 39th Street in March.
The book store, which has existed as a resource for the theater community for close to 100 years, was priced out of its 40th Street location in January. In response, Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail, producer Jeffrey Seller and theater owner James L. Nederlander took over the bookstore and found its new location.
The new book store will be located at 266 West 39th Street, one block from its old home. It will be designed by David Korins, set designer of “Hamilton,” in the style of a European café.
Julie Menin, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, aided the team.
Miranda and Kail both have a personal connection to the bookstore: They worked on drafts of “In the Heights,” created Freestyle Love Supreme and collaborated on projects there.
‘The Drama Book Shop is home,” Miranda said in the press release. “To the next generation of dramatists, actors, directors, composers, choreographers, designers, and theater enthusiasts: the stage is set. Come in. Discover. Enjoy.”
“I was in The Drama Book Shop most days of the week from December 2001 until May 2005,” Kail said in a statement. “My career started there. My life in New York City started there. I am proud to be part of this group that will reintroduce this vital source of inspiration for our city, and present countless others the same opportunity that it provided me and so many other.”
