How the Hamilton team gave the iconic Drama Book Shop in Manhattan a new and improved lease of life

A sculptural representation of a bookworm — 140 feet of scripts and songbooks, twisted along a steel skeleton — corkscrews across the Drama Book Shop in Manhattan. It starts with ancient Greek texts and, 2,400 volumes later, spills into in a pile that includes “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.”

This 3,500-pound tribute to theatrical history is the centerpiece of the century-old bookstore’s new location, opening Thursday on West 39th Street.

The shop — like so many bookstores around the country — had brushes with death, caused not only by e-commerce but also by fire and flood, before encountering a rent hike it could not withstand in 2018. The beloved institution, where students, artists, scholars and fans could browse memoirs and bone up for auditions, was in danger of closing.

Then came an unexpected rescue. Four men enriched by Hamilton — the musical’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda; its director, Thomas Kail; its lead producer, Jeffrey Seller; and the theater owner, James L Nederlander — bought the store from its longtime owners. Kail has a particularly close relationship with the shop; 20 years ago, just out of college, he formed a small theater company in its basement. After he teamed with Miranda, the two worked on In the Heights there.

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The bookstore is opening the same day that a film adaptation of In the Heights is scheduled to be released in theaters and on HBO Max, and Kail noted the thematic connections.

“Heights is about a different place in Manhattan where rents are going up and businesses are getting forced out,” he said. “There’s an obvious and clear line.”

The Hamilton team closed the store’s previous location on West 40th Street in January 2019 and put its contents in storage, anticipating reopening at a still-to-be-determined location later that year. But New York real estate being what it is, finding that location and renovating it took longer than anticipated. Then the pandemic arrived, closing theaters, disrupting the retail and tourism sectors, and quieting midtown.

Now, the Drama Book Shop is back, just as Broadway gears up for a late summer return.

“As all the theaters are starting to put dates out there, it feels like we’re part of that opening gesture,” Kail said.

Visitors can pick up books about theater (including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s presciently titled memoir, Unmasked) as well as “the play that just won a prize and the play that no one’s heard about,” Kail said. The store will also sell rare books, such as a first edition of Three Tall Women, signed by Edward Albee, and a first-edition script of West Side Story.

Like many bookstores, the owners hope to augment their income with a coffee bar and food. But there’s a personal flourish: Among the coffees sold will be a blend from Puerto Rico, part of Miranda’s effort to support farmers on the island where his parents are from.

“My hope is that we can continue to be a hub for the theater community,” Miranda said. “I don’t expect we’ll make a great fortune, but I hope with the coffee we’ll break even.”

Drama Book Shop, Backed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, to Open in June

The Drama Book Shop, a quirky 104-year-old Manhattan specialty store that has long been a haven for aspiring artists as well as a purveyor of scripts, will reopen next month with a new location, a new look, and a new team of starry owners.Those new owners — the “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as the show’s director, Thomas Kail, lead producer, Jeffrey Seller, and the theater owner James L. Nederlander — said Wednesday that the store will have its long-delayed reopening on June 10.The opening, at 266 West 39th Street, is a sign of the team’s confidence in Times Square, which has been largely theater-free since March 12, 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced Broadway to close. Broadway shows are not planning to resume performances until September, but the new store owners say they are ready for business.The “Hamilton” team bought the Drama Book Shop, most recently located on West 40th Street, in early 2019 after years in which the store had struggled to survive the challenges of Manhattan real estate, e-commerce, and even a damaging flood. Kail had a particular passion for the bookstore, where he had run a small theater company in his early years as a professional; Miranda joined him there to work on “In the Heights,” a musical Kail directed. “In the Heights” has now been adapted into a film which is being released on June 11, the day after the bookstore opens.

The new owners had initially hoped to reopen the store in late 2019, and then in early 2020, but the project was delayed, first by the vicissitudes of construction, and then by the pandemic. The new shop has been designed by David Korins, the “Hamilton” scenic designer, and includes a cafe.The store is encouraging visitors to make reservations online; capacity will be limited.