By Melonie Magruder
Special to The Lookout

June 14, 2010 -- There are few U.S. cities that offer as friendly a welcome as Santa Monica when the sun goes down on this urban community by the beach. And if there's a perfect place to dance the night away, be moved by live theater, laugh at comedy skits and be captured by some real magic, it's Downtown

In fact, you can start the festivities even before sunset at Ma’Kai Lounge for signature cocktails by expert mixologist Mike Rosa and Asian fusion appetizers by Executive Chef Ryan Bailey. Ma’Kai, which means “on the ocean” in Hawaiian, caters to a business-friendly crowd during the day, but spins some DJ-inspired tunes at night and on Sundays offers a brunch with live reggae music.

For those seeking a Pacific island vibe, Monsoon Café offers sushi, satay and sakes in a large storefront on Third Street Promenade with spacious atrium seating and intimate bamboo-covered booths. But every Wednesday and Saturday night, the restaurant rolls up the rug in the upstairs lounge for some pulse-racing salsa tunes that will give you a whole new appreciation for Latin dance music.

After dining, Santa Monica is home to some of the best, and longest running, live entertainment in greater Los Angeles.

When Magicopolis opened 13 years ago, magic duo Penn and Teller cast their hands and feet in cement for their first performance. Today, the showroom/magic shop/bar offers as many as 250 shows a year in a theatre with great acoustics and stadium seating that puts you up close and personal for everything from sleight of hand to flying ladies.

The décor is bohemian and clever, with huge posters featuring bygone magicians, red glass chandeliers, stained glass doors spirited away from Harry Houdini’s old digs in Coldwater Canyon and quirky magician assistant mannequins.

Resident magician Steve Spill’s magic shows run Friday and Saturday nights and on the weekend at 2 p.m., but the theatre is available for private rentals, classes and corporate events. After hours, you can sit at the bar and choose from a number of beers while your bartender offers a running repertoire of stunning card tricks.

In an industry town full of actors looking to hone their chops, comedy improv clubs, such as Hollywood's Laugh Factory and The Second City, abound. One of the most genial is M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater. Tucked away in the alley just east of the Promenade, the theater features a rotating cast of new-idea-a-minute, comedic loudmouths who will take two suggestions like “census takers” and a movie titled “The Tailor of Panama” and riff for 15 minutes in a dizzying display of the silly.

Shows play until midnight and draw heavily from professional comedians looking to try out a new bit. If creation on the fly is your thing, check out the Westsiders’ improvisational willingness to work without a net. There is a certain electricity to an evening that might fall flat, but might also yield comedic gems.

Also found by skipping down the 4th Court alley, the City Garage Theatre has made the intellectual accessible since its founding in 1994. The theatre's productions have garnered a slew of kudos and Critic’s Picks from the Los Angeles Times, Backstage and the L.A. Weekly.

From Simone de Beauvoir to Molière, City Garage productions embody the Brechtian motto: “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Their current production of Pierre Beaumarchais’ “The Marriage of Figaro,” the play banned by Louis XVI that Mozart used for his notorious opera, has been extended to June 20.

Down the street, Santa Monica Playhouse, features original productions as well as comic classics like Eugene Ionesco’s “The Bald Soprano.” Anchored by performers Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie, the 50-year-old nonprofit is a true community theatre. The couple presents family-friendly productions, stages special events like the Jewish Heritage Series (currently playing “Backstreet,” a musical about Jewish “working girls” in early 20th century New York) and holds classes for young aspiring artists.

Actresses Kate Hudson and Zooey Deschanel got their starts here, long after the playhouse first opened its doors with a vow to “only participate in actions that celebrate the human spirit,” as Artistic Director DeCarlo has proclaimed.

The Promenade Playhouse and Acting Conservatory offers professional acting and directing programs and workshops for stand up and improvisational technique. Their Third Street Comedy Show showcases industry talent that is consistently heralded by the agencies and casting directors that shape television and film. At $12, Friday and Saturday night tickets are one of the best deals in town.

And what better way to dance the night away than at Harvelle’s, a staple of 4th Street that features some of the best live blues, soul and R & B around. It’s an old-fashioned bar with a martini menu, deep booths and cushy barstools that are rarely empty. In a world of proliferating canned music, it is refreshing to see high-caliber live musicians giving their all.

For anglophiles, the Union Jack-bedecked Britannia Pub serves up obligatory Fish ‘n’ Chips and Philly Steak Sandwiches to go with big screen football – of both English and American persuasions – and karaoke. Wednesday nights rock with Beatles karaoke and the live Beatles tribute band Number 9. And, lest we forget the Fab Four, there is a Beatles cover band on Sunday nights. Rule Britannia!

For a night cap, check out Zanzibar on 5th Street. Moroccan décor, a great bar and a pounding bass line that rattles the ice in your glass combine to create a seductive and lively mood, with a mix-up of musical styles on tap throughout the week.

Soul, hiphop, Afro-funk and Brasilia will pull you to a dance floor that reflects not one or two, but seven mirror balls. Monday nights and a $5 cover give you big band salsa music and instruction from Latin dance experts.

"People know there's a vibrant performance scene on Downtown's streets," said Debbie Lee, the Bayside's Director of Marketing and Communications. "We'd like them to check out all the great music and theater going on in our many indoor venues as well. There in for a great time."

"People know there's a vibrant performance scene on Downtown's streets,

"We'd like them to check out all the great music and theater going on in our many indoor venues as well. There in for a great time."
         Debbie Lee