Lin-Manuel Miranda, City Partner To Save Midtown Bookstore

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A team of Broadway all-stars is partnering with the city to save a beloved theater district bookstore forced to shut its doors due to a catastrophic rent increase.

"Hamilton" creators Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Jeffrey Seller and theater producer James L. Nederlander will buy the Drama Book Shop from long-time owners in an effort to find the business a long-term home, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment announced Tuesday. The Mayor's office facilitated the partnership and aided the store's new owners in finding a new space for the store.

Drama Book Shop announced in October that a rent raise from $18,000 to $30,000 per month would force the building to close. The store, which has occupied space on West 40th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues for nearly 20 years, has one of the largest collections of plays in the United States. Drama Book Shop was founded more than 100 years ago and is currently owned by Rozanne Seelen.

"My first experiences directing in New York City were at the Arthur Seelen Theater in the basement of the Drama Book Shop," Thomas Kail said in a statement. "Thanks to the generosity of owners Allen Hubby and Rozanne Seelen, I had a small theater company that was in residence there for five years. I was lucky enough to be there the day the shop opened on 40th Street on December 3, 2001, and I am delighted to be part of this group that will ensure the Drama Book Shop lives on."

Drama Book Shop will close the doors of its current location on Jan. 20 and will be revived sometime in 2019 at a new space in the theater district, city officials said. The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment will announce the store's new location and opening date sometime this year.

"As a teen, I went to the @dramabookshop on 47th. Spent hours reading plays. Felt made for me, a place to go. In 2002, I met with Tommy Kail in the Drama Book Shop. It gave us a place to go. Proud to be part of this next chapter. A place for you to go," Miranda said Tuesday on social media.

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