There is, in every great city of the world, some particularly distinguished thoroughfare beside whose glories the municipality’s other avenues seem commonplace. With Paris, one thinks of the Champs Elysee; with London, the Pall Mall; Berlin, Unter den Linden; New York’s sleek Fifth Avenue; and Chicago, the wide and windswept Michigan Avenue. It is highly significant that Wilshire Boulevard has become, throughout the world, synonymous with Los Angeles. So proclaimed Wilshire Tropics Magazine in 1930. The journal’s assessment was shared by a long line of visionaries, boosters and planners who have marked Wilshire Boulevard as the symbolic spine of the city. Indeed, few streets in any other city can boast the number of landmarks, natural wonders, museums, diversity and density that exist on the boulevard’s 16-mile stretch from downtown to the beach in Santa Monica. The Los Angeles Conservancy will spotlight the history of Wilshire Boulevard during its new “Curating the City” initiative that includes an ambitious slate of programs happening over seven weeks. It launches this Sunday, October 2 with a one-day architectural tour showcasing interior spaces in six important landmarks along Wilshire. “Wilshire Boulevard is a microcosm of the city at large,” says Catherine Gudis, the Conservancy’s director of education. “Its growth parallels the growth of the city.” Gudis goes on to say how the overarching title, “Curating the City,” deliberately takes on the museum metaphor. “Our goal is to turn the city into a living museum. By putting a frame around some place, it gives an opportunity to reflect on ideas and history. There’s no one clear story, rather many layers to the story.” It’s this kind of approach’looking at historic buildings in a much larger context than simply the embodiment of an architectural style’that the Conservancy hopes will broaden its audience. “We want to get people to think of the built environment as part of a whole urban fabric,” Gudis says. The Conservancy, established in the 1970s, grew out of the community-based effort to prevent demolition of the L.A. Central Library. The organization has grown to a membership of over 8,000 households and its mission is two-fold: advocacy and education. “We need to continue to build a preservation ethic among Los Angelenos,” says Gudis, who regards the recent lost battle to save the Roosevelt Hotel as a reminder of the need to be ever-vigilant. “We want people to think about what is lost when buildings aren’t around to tell us about our common heritage.” The Conservancy plans to offer a new “Curating the City” exhibition every few years, highlighting a distinct part of the city. Spanning three cities and countless diverse commerical and residential neighborhoods, Wilshire Boulevard provides an especially rich history lesson. Not only does it showcase all the major architectural styles of the 20th century, it also highlights patterns of migration and immigration, tells the story of L.A.’s fascination with the automobile, and unearths colorful biographies of the city’s early movers and shakers. Interestingly, Wilshire Boulevard did not evolve in a straight westward line. It actually began in 1875 in Santa Monica, as Nevada Avenue, and in the 1880s as Orange Street from downtown to Westlake (now MacArthur) Park, then grew in fits and starts in other sections. The only thing separating downtown from the rest of the Boulevard was Westlake Park. In 1934, a causeway was built over the lake, splitting the park in two but completing the final leg of the Boulevard. The Boulevard got its name from the flamboyant, socialist-millionaire Henry Gaylord Wilshire, who arrived in Los Angeles from Ohio in the late 1800s. “He was such a cool character,” says Gudis, who describes how the man’s unusual legacy includes having a monopoly on the billboard industry and promoting a pseudo-medical device in the form of a belt that promised to cure everything from baldness to cancer. Ironically, while Wilshire espoused socialism and even ran for public office under its banner, he is best known for shaping what was to become the city’s first upscale residential area near downtown. To ensure the residential character of a 35-acre tract he had purchased in 1895 (located between today’s MacArthur and Lafayette Parks), he donated to the city a four-block strip down the center of it for the establishment of a boulevard to bear his name. This came with the stipulation that railroad lines and commercial and industrial trucking be banned. True to Wilshire’s vision, the area soon became dotted with large mansions. Gudis refers to the automobile as the main character in the story of Wilshire Boulevard, serving as the major catalyst in its development. When Bullocks Wilshire opened in 1929, it was the first department store that put the car at center stage, with the main entrance to the building’and valet parking’at the rear. The commercialization of Wilshire continued farther west when the one-mile stretch between La Brea and Fairfax Avenues, dubbed “Miracle Mile,” was developed. Beginning in the 1920s, A.W. Ross envisioned the area as a commercial center to rival downtown. “He knew the automobile was going to make this place happen,” Gudis explains. At the time, it was described as “Ross’ Folly,” since the Boulevard was a dirt road surrounded by bean fields, and the only notable structures were oil derricks. “He had the last laugh,” Gudis adds. Another defining moment for the Boulevard came when the 13-story height limit was lifted in 1957. Some 22 high-rise office buildings were erected in the Wilshire Center area from 1966 to 1976, and during the 1980s, scores of high-rise and high-cost condominiums were erected along the stretch of Wilshire in Westwood. The diverse architectural gems to be opened for docent-led tours on October 2 are The Elks Club, now the Park Plaza Hotel (Curlett and Beelman, 1925), built in the elite Westlake area to host L.A.’s society set; the Art Deco Bullocks Wilshire building (John and Donald Parkinson, 1929) a restored landmark that is now part of the Southwestern University School of Law campus; and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple (A.M. Adelman, S. Tilden Norton, and David S. Allison, 1929) with its immense Byzantine dome. Also featured will be Johnie’s Coffee Shop (Armet and Davis, 1955) an icon of the “Googie” aesthetic; the Victorian-styled Wadsworth Chapel (J. Lee Burton, 1900), the oldest building on Wilshire Boulevard; and the Spanish Colonial Revival Miles Playhouse (John Byers, 1929) in Santa Monica. “The tour is going to be a blast,” says an enthusiastic Gudis. “There will be special attractions at each of the sites.” Tickets for the Sunday, October 2 one-day, self-guided architectural tour are $35 ($25 for Conservancy members and $12.50 for students under 21 with a valid I.D.). To order tickets, call (213) 623-2489 or visit www.curatingthecity.org.

An aficionado is a person passionately devoted to a certain activity or interest, someone who knows a lot about and appreciates a particular subject. In Michael Zussman’s and Matt Hish’s screenplay of the same name, that subject is life. Well, on the surface, it’s cigars’the hook to steer the story like the use of wine in “Sideways.” But the opening, inspiring monologue promises that the story will deliver more, and it does. These young actors/screenwriters have collected some of what they consider to be the most valuable or pertinent advice’about women, careers, and life, in general’and crafted a coming-of-age story about a recent college graduate who learns that living his life means living his dreams…while puffing a Cuban. They even chose to work in an inspiring venue’the Writer’s Bar of L’Ermitage hotel in Beverly Hills, where on one wall are displayed framed screenplays written there that became Hollywood hits. Among them: “Good Will Hunting,” “Jaws,” “The Godfather” and “The Graduate.” On a recent afternoon, Zussman and Hish plopped down on the familiar, comfy chairs in the quiet lounge area to discuss their script. Inspired by actors who wrote their way into their careers, like Matt Damon (“Good Will Hunting”) and Zach Braff (“Garden State”), Zussman, 23, and Hish, 27, said they set out to write a script that would encourage others but also be a testament to their own faith in pursuing their passion. “We’re acting, we’re writing movies, we’re actually doing what we want to be doing,” said Zussman, who grew up in Pacific Palisades. “That’s proof that we’re living for today.” Of course, they are also paying the bills by waiting tables and bartending. In fact, Zussman and Hish met in July 2004 at La Scala restaurant in Beverly Hills. “We would talk throughout work,” said Zussman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Georgetown University. They wrote a short film together, in part as an exercise to see if and how they could work as a team. The film, called “Pull to Stop,” was a finalist in the Georgetown Independent Film Festival last spring, and is essentially a scene that introduces the two main characters in their screenplay, “Aficionado.” The characters, Jack and Vinn, are “loosely based on us,” according to Zussman and Hish. Many of the other characters and stories told within the screenplay are based on people they know, and things they’ve experienced or heard in real life. For example, Jack’s mentor, Monroe, is based on Zussman’s former Brentwood High School teacher Tom Lysaught, a screenwriter and playwright who has given him feedback on the script. Also, Jack works at Norris Hardware, which Zussman says he named after the Palisades store, though he never worked there. For the record, he worked at Baskin-Robbins and was a delivery boy for Mort’s Deli during his high school years. “This year of my life has been a huge growth period,” Zussman said about his post-college experience, adding that his intention in writing this story was, in part, “to put a voice to people our age, even if it meant writing about something that, according to someone else, we shouldn’t have been writing about, but that we thought was necessary.” For example, the characters do quite a bit of boozing and carousing with the ladies in “Swingers”-esque fashion, but the characters also have some depth to them, apparent in the frank and intimate way in which they discuss their feelings. “There were times when I wrote things that were personal, but I knew the script had to be accurate and real, so people could relate,” Zussman said. They chose the arena of the cigar world as a theme because they feel like it’s something everyone has access to and that it hasn’t really been done before in film. Hish said that cigars also evoke “the classic, masculine success image” though he and Zussman admit that they aren’t particularly passionate about cigars in real life. In preparation to writing the script, they spent three months researching at the library and talking to local cigar shop owners. Zussman also took a six-week Writers Boot Camp basic training course that focused on writing a feature-length screenplay. But perhaps it was at L’Ermitage where they learned the most. There they met some of the industry greats, including Benicio del Toro (“Sin City” and “21 Grams”), Ben Kingsley (“The House of Sand and Fog” and “Gandhi”) and Kimberly Peirce (the writer/director of “Boys Don’t Cry”). Zussman and Hish took the opportunity to ask these pros for artistic advice, and said that Kingsley told them, “no matter what people tell you to change, be true to yourself.” They were also told to continue pursuing their project even after they get a few rejections, since the goal is finding one person who really believes in what they’re doing. Hish said that hearing this from an actor as revered as Kingsley “really gives us a lot of confidence to believe in our own opinions.” So, while Zussman and Hish might have to be patient about seeing their work on the big screen, they’re willing to wait at least a little while. After all, they have to listen to their own words, from the monologue in “Aficionado,” that “it’s easy to overlook the 15 years it takes to become an overnight success.” For those interested in reading a copy of “Aficionado,” contact Zussman at mikezussman@hotmail.com.

Theater Review

“He who would write and can’t write, can surely review.” James Russell Lowell. “Sylvia,” a comedy by A.R. Gurney, is currently running at the Morgan-Wixson Theater, at 2627 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica. A. R. Gurney is probably one of the nation’s most prolific playwrights. Born in 1930, he received his master’s degree in playwriting from Yale. His first major success was in 1982 with “The Dining Room.” Gurney has won several awards and his plays are produced constantly around the country. They are well adapted to Off-Broadway, regional and college theaters because they have few characters and simple settings. When “Sylvia” opened at the Manhattan Theater Club in 1995 with Sarah Jessica Parker as Sylvia, it was an instant success. It played to sold-out audiences and was subsequently moved to the John Houseman Theater off 42nd Street. “Sylvia” is a romantic comedy that involves a married couple Greg and Kate, “empty-nesters” who after 22 years of raising children in the suburbs have moved to Manhattan. Greg’s career as a financial planner is starting to wear on him, while Kate’s career seems on the rise. As a public school English teacher, she has well-received ideas of bringing Shakespeare to inner-city school students. Sylvia, the dog, played by Wendy Douglas, “adopts” Greg one day while he’s in the park musing about life. He brings Sylvia home and can’t understand Kate’s resistance to her. Kate finally agrees to a trial period, but if it doesn’t work, the dog has to go. Rather than realizing Greg is in the middle of a midlife crisis and trying to sort things out, Kate just wants things to be as they’ve always been. Their conflict pushes Greg to confide and share his musing with Sylvia rather than his wife. A battle for Greg’s affection between Sylvia and Kate ensues. The New York Times had this to say about Gurney’s play: “Dramatic literature is stuffed with memorable love scenes, but none is as immediately delicious and dizzy as the one that begins the redeeming affair in A.R. Gurney’s new comedy, ‘Sylvia”” The New York Daily News wrote: “I can only call it one of the most involving, beautiful, funny, touching and profound plays I have ever seen'” The play is clever and funny at times, but I’m not sure it warrants the raves these New York critics gave it. There are problems with some of the scenes. Kate’s occasional Shakespearean quotes seem forced. The midlife crisis issue gets lost at times with unwarranted “dog” issues like spaying. At one point Sylvia spies a cat, and the foul words being emitted are jarring. The entire play lies on the shoulders of the actress playing Sylvia, and Douglas is superb, sublime and a treat to watch! From the toss of her head as she finds out she’s part French poodle to the time she seductively strolls out to meet other dogs, it’s impossible to take your eyes off of her’the audience wonders what Sylvia might do next. The role is physically demanding, as Douglas jumps from sofa to floor to eagerly “dancing” at the door waiting for Greg to come home. She’s been a dancer for over 20 years, which probably contributes to her graceful and nuanced movement. In the role of Greg, a low-key David Burr is easy to watch. He understands the role, and makes Greg a sympathetic character. The audience believes this is a man going through a crisis. His wife Kate, Georgan George, is one-dimensional. In all fairness to the actress, the role is not written sympathetically, which makes George’s work twice as a hard. Playing three roles’a macho male, a society matron, and a sexually ambiguous therapist’Gregory Blair pulls off two of the three brilliantly. The funniest scene in the play is when society matron Phyllis commiserates with Kate before meeting Sylvia. In costuming a “dog,” Sherry Coon made excellent choices. Although she’s currently directing “All My Sons” at the Theatre Palisades, in the program she explains she wouldn’t normally try to costume one show while directing another, but the once-in-a-lifetime chance to put a cocktail dress on a dog was too much to pass up. In his bio, director Douglas Green talks of the love for his dog. He gets what Gurney is saying about how a dog is a man’s best friend. The cream of the play is brought out in his able hands. Part of the joy of this production is how easy it is to forget Wendy is an actress playing a dog. The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., and there is one Saturday matinee September 24 at 2 p.m. The play runs through October 1. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and $10 for students. Contact: 828-7519.