FUTURE PRESENCE

Downtown Hollywood

What’s been done: The MTA opened the Red Line to Hollywood; the El Capitan Theatre reopened after seismic repairs; and the American Cinematheque gave serious moviegoers a foothold at the Egyptian. At the corner of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, TrizecHahn Development has a $430-million, 640,000-square-foot entertainment complex under construction that will include movie theaters, a hotel, a venue designed for the Oscars and other telecasts, retail stores and restaurants. Extensive new development is planned around the Cinerama Dome. New and made-over nightclubs have been luring scenesters away from the Sunset Strip, too, including Vynyl, Blue, Daddy’s, the Playroom, the Sunset Room, the Burgundy Room and the Baked Potato Hollywood.

Outlook for 2000: This could be the year Hollywood turns the corner toward once again becoming a viable entertainment destination, along the lines of Old Town Pasadena. On the clubs front, New York’s cutting-edge Knitting Factory is opening a West Coast outlet on Hollywood Boulevard and the Beauty Bar is moving in on Cahuenga Boulevard. In October, the Broadway hit “The Lion King” comes to the Pantages, sure to draw crowds. Down the road, look for lots more movie theaters and some restaurants to give Musso & Frank a run for its money. Even Quincy Jones will be getting into the act with Q’s Jook Joint in the Hollywood-Highland complex.

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The Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County

What’s been done: The entity formerly known as the Music Center is now the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, a signal of the center’s administrative reorganization (formerly two teams, one for fund-raising and one for operations; now one) and a reflection of its broader-than-music offerings. Additionally, three of the center’s four resident companies--the 81-year-old Los Angeles Philharmonic, the 13-year-old Los Angeles Opera and the 36-year-old Los Angeles Master Chorale--are juggling administrative upheavals, retirements, and new hires. Finally, construction has begun on the long-awaited addition to the center, Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Outlook for 2000: Watch for yet another name change, as the complex recruits new donors (and, most likely, offers a naming opportunity). The new center administration will stretch its wings as a presenter, with the Bolshoi Ballet set to appear in June. At the Philharmonic, Deborah Borda takes the business-side reins in early January, bringing a reputation for aggressive financial and marketing ideas to an organization that has been leaderless for six months. In June, opera founding general director Peter Hemmings retires, and the tenor with many jobs, Placido Domingo, takes charge. The Grammy-nominated Master Chorale is in search mode: its longtime music director Paul Salamunovich has indicated he will be retiring soon, and executive director Joan Cumming has quit to join Borda’s team at the Phil.

First signals of what the changes mean artistically will come with announcements of the 2000-01 seasons; also look for the exterior structure of Disney Hall to be substantially complete by year’s end.