THE FREEWHEELIN' NEW WILTERN THEATER'S REDESIGN AIMS FOR ADAPTABILITY.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

AS THE BOB DYLAN song goes, ``Things Have Changed,'' and as far as the Wiltern Theatre is concerned they will keep changing - depending on the act.

The venerable Dylan will be the first attraction Tuesday at the historic theater after its $1.5 million makeover, which has transformed the elegant venue on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue into a freewheeling space that can accommodate the needs of both artist and audience.

Of course, change can make people apprehensive. When radio- and theater-industry giant Clear Channel Entertainment took control of the venue and announced plans for the facelift, longtime local music fans feared that the removal of almost 1,200 fixed floor seats would alter forever the atmosphere of one of the last old-fashioned music halls in town.

``We wanted to offer something versatile enough for the (hard rockers) Foo Fighters or (jazz thrush) Diana Krall,'' says Brian Murphy, chief operating officer of Clear Channel's Los Angeles music division. ``There are no original ideas. The question was, how do we make it work for a lot of different artists?''

What Clear Channel did after taking out the seats was replace them with five general-admission tiers that can be set up in different ways: a standing-room-only format, a club style with high tables and chairs, or a combination of both. The configurations will depend on the act.

Ticket-holders get their first look at the joint Tuesday when Dylan comes in. Murphy says when the leathery songsmith was first approached about a date at the theater, his reaction was, ``Can I be first?''

As part of the cleanup and redesign, the ornate balcony (to which a new bar has been added in the upstairs lobby) features nearly 1,000 fixed seats that will stay as they are, Murphy says.

Along with several Dylan dates, the venue has booked Ani DiFranco, Badly Drawn Boy, Jaguares, Ryan Adams, Underworld and more. The Rolling Stones will play there Nov. 4, following two stadium dates.

Although other cities still retain Art Deco venues, few have been refurbished in such a way as the Wiltern, with a general-admission floor that incorporates rising tiers for better sight lines, says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a weekly magazine that covers the touring industry.

``This isn't a trend, but it's been done in other markets,'' he says. ``The model is the (Clear Channel-owned) Warfield in San Francisco, where they also have seating in the balconies, although they don't have tiers like the Wiltern does.''

The interesting thing, Bongiovanni says, is the venue's versatility. For instance, by putting tables and chairs on the back tiers and leaving the front area a mosh pit, the Wiltern isn't competing head-to-head with the Pantages, the Kodak Theatre and the Universal Amphitheatre - houses of a similar capacity that are solidly seated.

``It's a smart business move, and they did it without harming the integrity of the theater,'' Bongiovanni says.

On a recent tour of the Wiltern, Clear Channel executives pointed out how original elements of the venue, which was built in 1929, have not been changed or removed but instead brightened. The lush carpet was rewoven, and gorgeous Art Deco designs on ceilings and walls have been touched up.

The corporation worked on the project with the Los Angeles Conservancy, which initially saved the venue in 1985 when it was due to be torn down. Ken Bernstein, director of preservation issues for the conservancy, says the group at first had mixed feelings about the Clear Channel redesign, calling the Wiltern ``one of the city's Art Deco jewels.''

Bernstein says one condition of the refurbishing was that the old seats be placed in storage. But, he was quick to add, those seats were not the original '30s theater seats, which had been replaced in 1980.

Instead, the conservancy asked that the seats be stored in a safe place ``so in the event this turns out not to be a permanent development, the venue could be put back to its original state.''

And although things have changed, Bernstein says the conservancy ``ultimately felt the project did conform to historic preservation standards.''

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Wiltern's floor has been transformed into five levels.

(2 -- color) Tiers afford a clear view of the stage from far away.

(3 -- color) The remodeled Wiltern opens Tuesday with a concert by Bob Dylan.

(4 -- color) The renovation attempted to enhance original features of the Art Deco building, such as the designs on the ceiling.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer