Time to Play

When a Hollywood club is about to debut, you need to know. And when the bartenders will also be taking to the trapeze, well, you need to know now. Introducing a wild new Hollywood Boulevard spectacle—it's called Playhouse, and we've got a few tickets for Thursday's VIP blowout. Located in the historic Fox Theatre, Playhouse is sort of a 13,000-square-foot circus tent, if circus tents had Brent Bolthouse spinning on Saturday nights. (He'll be up in the balcony.) A dark corridor spills right into the central bar, where your limber barman will whip you up a couple Pulp Fictions—whiskey, dry vermouth, grapefruit juice and a lemon twist—just before he leaps up onto the trapeze for a circus stunt or two. (Hope he got your drink right.) If you're going the bottle-service route in one of the booths, your cocktail waitress will start you off with free shots—then, later, she and the other girls might start feeling burlesque-y. And down at the end is a giant performance stage that'll host rock shows on venue nights—or a DJ and another bar on club nights. This three-ring mayhem comes to you from Muse Lifestyle Group, whose founders Rob Vinokur and Elie Samaha brought in A-list promoter Allison Melnick (of Apple Lounge A-list promotion fame). But they also flew over famed NYC gatekeeper Gilbert Stafford to keep the scene eclectic, as opposed to, you know… Hollywood.

Note:Playhouse 6506 Hollywood Blvd (W. of Wilcox) Los Angeles, CA 90028 323-656-4600 website