AFTER HOURS, TOWN IS PERCOLATING TO LIFE.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

A tourism concept that would have been unthinkable a few years ago - Hollywood after dark - is newly viable, thanks in large part to the appeal of Hollywood & Highland.

The entertainment complex can be used as a base of operations if you want to bring your summer guests to Hollywood in the afternoon and make an evening of it. Its subterranean parking structure is a relatively safe alternative to the open lots on nearby side streets, and shuttles run to a couple of key Hollywood entertainment sites.

Among the nightlife options:

Pantages Theatre: Mel Brooks' hilariously irreverent musical ``The Producers'' has settled in at this impressive 1929 movie palace at Hollywood and Vine. Free shuttles run between Hollywood & Highland and the theater.

Tickets, priced from $27 to $97, can be purchased from Ticketmaster - [phone]; www.ticketmaster.com - or, if you don't want to pay a Ticketmaster charge, at the box office.

Arrive at Hollywood & Highland in the afternoon, pay a visit to the Chinese Theatre's cement prints and other nearby sights, have dinner at the complex - The Grill on Hollywood and Wolfgang Puck's Vert are both very good - and then hop on a shuttle.

The shuttles begin boarding at the Orange Court an hour before curtain and run every 20 minutes thereafter. Information: [phone].

Information on ``The Producers'': www.nederlander.com/pantages.html.

Hollywood Bowl: A picnic in the amphitheater, a twilight glow on the surrounding hills, Jean-Yves Thibaudet playing Liszt on the piano or Etta James singing ``At Last'' - this is a quintessential summer experience in L.A.

Out-of-towners accustomed to paying larcenous prices for food and drink at concert venues might be shocked to learn that it's permissible to tote an ice chest in here with cold chicken, pasta salad, goat cheese buttons - even a bottle of wine!

And ticket prices are remarkably reasonable. You can get a seat high up the hillside, where sound and the view are still superb, for $10 or less.

Rule No. 1 for a Hollywood Bowl outing, though: Never, ever try to drive to this place. It came into being in the 1920s, before every household had two or three cars, and the Bowl's stack parking is a nightmare on wheels.

Instead, if you're incorporating this excursion into a visit to Hollywood, park in the Hollywood & Highland garage and either trudge the few blocks uphill to the Bowl or ride a $3 Bowlbus shuttle, which leaves every few minutes beginning a couple of hours before showtime. The restaurants in the complex prepare box suppers for Bowl outings.

If you're not paying a visit to Hollywood proper, head to the free parking lots at the L.A. Zoo or in Universal City and catch the regular-running shuttles. Information: [phone]; www.hollywoodbowl.org (click on ``Getting to the Bowl'' for shuttle details).

Feinstein's at the Cinegrill: This ambitious venture has revived the nightclub of the newly renovated Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, directly across the street from the Chinese Theatre. It has moved it, too, from the lobby level to a stylishly designed, cavelike room in the basement.

Michael Feinstein, a celebrated singer of standards, opened the performance calendar himself, then handed the mike over to such acts as Tony Danza and the Four Freshmen.

Be advised that this entertainment option will put a dent in your budget. In addition to the ticket price (it was $50 for Feinstein, $35 for Danza), there is a minimum table charge of $30 per person. Dinner is served at the evening act, appetizers and dessert at the late show. Information: [phone]; www.hollywoodroosevelt.com.

Kodak Theatre: It's the permanent home of the Academy Awards, yes, but this elegant performing arts venue at Hollywood & Highland doesn't sit dark the rest of the year. It plays host to ballet, theatrical productions and other shows. The kids-oriented ``Dora the Explorer'' opens in early August. Information: [phone]; www.kodaktheatre.com.

Egyptian Theatre: American Cinematheque, a nonprofit cultural organization devoted to all forms of the motion picture, presents film series that you'll never find at your suburban multiplex. Some of this summer's offerings: ``Mods and Rockers,'' a series of films from ``the swinging '60s''; and a series devoted to science fiction, fantasy and horror flicks.

Information: [phone] or [phone]; egyptiantheatre.com.