The Martin Scorsese documentary centered on New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen, titled Personality Crisis: One Night Only, has received its first trailer along with its Showtime premiere date on Friday, April 14th.
The initial clip offers a glimpse at a January 2020 performance by the wildly influential New York artist, who donned his swing-influenced, ’80s persona Buster Poindexter, at the city’s uptown cabaret, Café Carlyle. Johansen spells out the show’s unique conceit quickly by telling the audience, “We decided we would do Buster Poindexter, that’s me, singing the songs of David Johansen, that’s me. And so here we are, both of us.”
The preview promises double the heat as Johansen’s two converged on-stage acts tackle new interpretations of “Frenchette” from his 1978 self-titled solo album, “Heart of Gold” from 1981’s Here Comes the Night, and more. The film also seems to capture the natural duality within the singer, who at one point dismissively calls himself “a one-hit wonder twice,” and refers to his career-making 1987 single “Hot Hot Hot” as the “bane of my existence,” then later cheekily tells the crowd, “I’m such a sentimental old fool.” Watch the full trailer below.
Personality Crisis: One Night Only was co-directed by Scorsese and his frequent collaborator David Tedeschi, who filmed the New York Dolls frontman’s solo concert at Café Carlyle and compiled archival interviews and footage, with some filmed by David Johansen’s daughter, Leah Hennessey. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer served as executive producers.
The documentary, which originally premiered at the 2022 New York Film Festival, will debut via Showtime on April 14th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. It streams simultaneously.
As for the long-defunct New York Dolls, the proto-punk rock legends lost founding guitarist and piano player Sylvain Sylvain in 2021.