Comments (0) Best Place for Playas - 2010
Playhouse
All hot spots have a shelf life these days, but Playhouse, which opened last year, seems to be playing hardball in its bid to stay fresh. The mega-club from Elie Samaha (Roxbury, the Green Door) and Rob Vinokur (Crobar NYC, Miami’s Goddess) transformed the old Fox Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard near Wilcox into a circus-themed dance-o-rama last year; it remains a destination thanks to its festive decor and lighting, its adjacent 24-hour eatery (Sweet Love Hangover) and top-notch DJ bookings. The most reliable for turntable talent remains long-running electronic music night Monday’s Social, which abandoned its intimate vib from venues past for Playhouse’s extra-sensory experience last year. The visual amusements include LCD screens flashing in shapes and trippy designs behind the DJ on stage, a sunken dance floor and a bar in the middle of the room, above which servers do double duty as cirque performers, flying through the air on hoops and ropes. It’s Vegas-y but not grossly so. Yes, the requisite bottle-service tables, velvet ropes and douchey dudes and bimbettes must be tolerated (especially on weekends), but the fun production details at this house make it playful in spite of the pretense. 6506 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd. (323) 656-4800. —Lina Lecaro
