In 2017, Amanda Foley, the location scout for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” needed a place to shoot a record store scene. It’s a challenge to find interiors that fit the storyline of the series’ main character Midge Maisel, a wealthy Jewish housewife who dives into the Village scene of the late 50s and early 60s. On the outside, preservation laws ensure Greenwich Village looks the same, but step inside and it’s clear: This is not the Village of bohemians and cheap rents.
When Foley walked into The Music Inn a cramped world instrument shop with a forest of Russian balalaikas, Japanese kotos and African harps dangling from every inch of the ceiling she knew she found her spot.