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Hamilton does not need an introduction, nor does its creator. It has become a Broadway staple and is hailed as the artistic chariot that will bring the masses back to New York City for recovery.
On October 26, Mayor Bill de Blasio joined Lin-Manuel Miranda in Midtown to honor the creator of the hit show and his efforts to bring Broadway back into narrative after months of pandemic closure.
As the road to normalcy was paved with the opening of more Broadway shows that fall, Mayor de Blasio also enjoyed several comeback stories – the first being the reopening of the Drama Book Shop at 266 West 39th Street, which had been in operation since 1917 and closed its doors a century later in 2017.
However, the Drama Book Shop was one of the few storefronts that, thanks to their new co-owner Miranda, managed to return to a different location on their own after the onslaught of the deadly virus on June 10, 2021.
De Blasio sold a variety of paper plays, including Miranda’s, and saw it as the perfect place to pay tribute to the store’s and Broadway’s comeback history, which he attributes to the famous playwright.
“We are the great city of art and culture, we are a city of creativity, we are a city of writers and believers and the fact that this place has risen again to keep this tradition alive is incredibly beautiful”, said Mayor Bill said de Blasio, who was standing next to Miranda, surrounded by books.
In honor of Miranda’s contributions to the arts, the Mayor presented the creator of Hamilton with a proclamation dubbed October 26th Drama Book Shop Day.
“Thank you, Mayor de Blasio. I am incredibly proud on behalf of myself and my co-owners to accept this proclamation. Places like the Drama Book Shop are the backbone of what makes New York City so special. When I was in high school, I sat on the floor of the old drama bookstore in its old location, â€Miranda explained. “Come by for a coffee and get a book. When I couldn’t afford Broadway tickets, I would sit on the drama bookstore floor reading the librettos and listening to the scores. I welcome you to use this space as a resource for collecting and dreaming. “
The mayor echoed these feelings and urged New Yorkers to spend their money in mom and pop stores as the holidays approached. De Blasio tried to put his money where his mouth was and went shopping in the store with Miranda as a guide to find an early present for his son Dante de Blasio. Miranda piled book after book in the city official’s arms and signed it with her own signature.
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