#17: The Drama Bookshop

Midtown's beloved bookstore gets a reprise

The Shop: The Drama Book Shop

Garment District, Manhattan: 266 W 39th Street

A brief origin story: my love of quirky NYC bookstores very much began at the old Drama Book Shop. I basically lived there from 2016-2019, working for the Story Pirates upstairs, rehearsing sketch shows on the main floor after hours, and producing plays and parties in the crappy and charming basement theater downstairs. I bar tended the DBS 100 year anniversary party, popping infinite Prosecco for NYC theater weirdos young and old but mostly old. I also met Faye Dunaway there once when she showed up after hours one night looking for a play (we obliged and reopened the store just for her). I knew every inch of that store (including the secret downstairs bathroom), but it's crumbling walls were more than occasionally claustrophobic. I was sad to see it close, but ready to move on to new things.

The story of the DBS’s astronomical rent hike, closure, and subsequent purchase and revitalization by Tommy Kail and Lin Manuel Miranda’s pretty well publicized so I’ll skip that part of the story and cut to the NEW Drama Bookshop and how fantastic it is. The new DBS sports a Rizzoli-esque elegance while maintaining the welcoming, community vibe of the old spot. With a coffee bar and plenty of couches, the new DBS practically dares you to hold a table read there. In addition to the pre-existing stock of seemingly every published play in history, the new spot indulges in some deserved self-mythologizing with a whole lot of merch for both the DBS and its new owner Mr. Miranda. I had a whole lot of feels coming here-- while it may not have been MY Drama Bookshop (the one with Marcus, Chester, Freddie, occasional bedbugs, and a whole bunch of memories) this version is America’s Drama Book Shop, a perfect spot for every shade of theatrical diehard and right at home in a new significantly sleeker midtown.

What I got:

By the Skin of Our Teeth

A recent song obsession of mine has been The Band’s 1993 cover of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” a song that hits you right in the feelings. Having recently found out the song was inspired by Thorton Wilder’s classic New Jersey tale, this was the perfect opportunity to get my hands on it!

Dance Nation

This play rec came from one of the greatest playwrights I know, Pat Vermillion! This edition of Clare Barron’s chronicle of a middle school dance team is extra large to accommodate her exquisitely idiosyncratic formatting.  

Paper Curator Notebook & Pencils

This bold and beautiful notebook and pencils was a birthday present for my mom. I love you mom!