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David J's 'Chanteuse' is 'the Devil's Muse' at the Bootleg
Vangeline, Daniele Watts and Douglas Dickerman in "The Chanteuse and the Devil's Muse" (Photo: Brian Jordan Alvarez)
Using songs he wrote for the score of Ramzi Abed's 2007 indie film "The Devil's Muse," about the infamous Black Dahlia murder case, iconic early goth rocker David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) has now created his own brief theatrical collage on the same perpetually intriguing LA tragedy.
Although it clocks in at well under an hour, there's a whole lot going on in "The Chanteuse and the Devil's Muse," from musical performances by David J himself (backed up by co-composer Ego Plum and Ysanne Spevack) to a creepy interpretation of the murdered girl's posthumous psyche by butoh dance artist Vangeline and a projection of the entire climactic scene of 1955 film noir classic "Kiss Me Deadly." Not to mention a two-character play involving the police interrogation of suspected killer Dr. George Hodel's mistress Madi Comfort.
There's not much of a sum to all these disparate parts, but David J fans, butoh enthusiasts, and Black Dahlia cultists at least should be richly satisfied.
"Chanteuse and the Devil's Muse" at the Bootleg Theater, Thursday-Saturday nights at 7:30 through October 1. Tickets $28 and $20 through the Bootleg web site, $16.50 through LA Stage Tix and on goldstar.
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