Venue Review: Playhouse

Name	Playhouse Nightclub
Date of Review	Saturday 2/11/12
Address	6506 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Area	Hollywood
Size	2 stories, medium
Cost	Free-$20
Parking	Paid Lot ($10-$15)/ Valet
Music	Top 40, R&B, Rap, House
Ambiance	Typical Hollywood
Decor	Small-ish sunken dance floor, two DJs, four bars, VIP sections with lounge seating. Small dance floor, couches and retractable roof on second floor.
Clientele	Diverse crowd, lots of the industry types. Playhouse can be good for celeb spotting, if that’s your thing.
Seating	None, unless you have bottle service
Food	None
Drinks	Full bar
Best Nights	Friday/Saturday (Special events)
Dress Code	Trendy
Wait time	45-60mins. If you show up after 11 on a Saturday, you may not get in. If you’re on a good guest list (there are several), and get there before 11, you’ll be inside in about 10 mins.
Restroom	One bathroom on first floor with one row of stalls, and another smaller, less crowded bathroom on the second floor.

Pros: Playhouse is a Hollywood hotspot with an attractive and fairly well-dressed crowd. Most of the people look gathered, regardless of their actual status. Saturdays are always crowded, but occasionally the club will host celebrities as special guests. The night of our most recent visit, Jermaine Dupri was there for their Pre-Grammy Party. Around midnight he hopped on the mic, and after a small rant/tribute to Whitney Houston, he showed the in-house DJs a thing or two. The dance floor was quickly flooded, and we had a great night. If you come on the right night, and are on a guest list (to bypass the heavy security), you won’t be disappointed.

Cons: The roughest part of any evening at Playhouse is the start. The lines tend to be long, and security can get gruff. Try to be in line before 10:30. CPT could leave you stuck outside, unless you’re on a guest list, and even then you’ll wait a while. We left at 1:45 a.m. (it was still poppin), and there were a TON of people still trying to get in. Don’t let this be you. That aside, there is a definite lack of seating that most ladies will find problematic by midnight. Don’t expect to sit unless you (or a friend) has bottle service. Drinks are Hollywood-high, and not spectacular, but you’re probably not going to Playhouse for the high-quality drinks. Dancing, however, is likely to be a top priority, and you’ll quickly become grateful for the two DJs. The music is typical, more radio hits than club bangers, and the DJs tend to be streaky. If you’re lucky, at least one of them will be playing good dance music most of the night. Basically, don’t get too attached to the awesome piece of dance floor real estate you just scored--he’ll be spinning Madonna in a couple of minutes. Oh, and we got flashed by an artificially-enhanced blond (nevermind the live appearance by Elmo). Awkward.

The Gathered Grade: C+ Playhouse is far too unreliable to be recommended as a regular spot for gathered people. The crowd itself is a bit of a mixed bag, from real celebs (a rarity) to “actors” and “rappers” and other industry types. There are also some young professionals and students (of all races) in attendance. Playhouse is a club a couple of years removed from it’s heyday as one of the hottest clubs in Hollywood. You can still find its official website proudly proclaiming that Playhouse was rated the 4th hottest club in the world by Reuters, but that was back in 2010. Now, some of the upholstery is in need of repair, the decor is few years old and the DJs are not consistently awesome. Not to mention that both dance floors feel uncomfortably small when the club is full. That does not mean this is a place you should never go, it just isn’t the right choice for a random night of fun in LA. Playhouse is at its best when there is a special event taking place (like the pre-Grammy party). These nights are almost always a good time. On normal nights, you’ll spend a fair bit of money, but you probably won’t have nearly as much fun.