CIVILIAN Hotel Celebrates & Supports Theatre Design

A new 203-room, 27-story hotel has opened in Manhattan's theatre district, and its design celebrates the craft of some of theatre's biggest names. While the establishment began doing business in November, it is still finishing some communal spaces at its West 48th Street location with the aim of being a hangout for both theatre professionals and fans.

Civilian

The interior incorporates sketches and costumes from some of Broadway's iconic shows of the past, and contemporary commissions from some of its most influential designers of the present. Collaborators include Tony Award-winning set, costume and lighting designers Paul TazewellHamilton; Clint Ramos, Eclipsed; Rachel HauckHadestownChristine JonesHarry Potter and the Cursed Child; and nine-time winning lighting designer Jules Fisher.

David Rockwell is himself a Tony Award-winning designer, and rather than leave memorabilia illustrating the extraordinary talent of theatre designers in warehouses or worse, he has curated displays of costumes from films such as the recent remake of the film of West Side Story and The Lion King on Broadway, and props from shows such as She Loves Me. Other items include drawings by Boris Aronson from the original production of Company, in addition to sketches and photographs from the most recent version. Even some of the furnishings were rescued from old theatres. 

"The hotel was an idea I had been gestating for 15 years, and we have been working on the concept and eventually construction since 2017," says Rockwell. "We were also the architects so it was a total labor of love from start to finish!

Scott Pask, Mimi Lien, Neil Patel, and Clint Ramos have all contributed illustrations of New York theatres for display. 

In addition to providing a theatre-centric place to stay, dine, and socialize close to Broadway, the hotel will donate a percentage of room revenue to the American Theatre Wing