Piece Of My Heart Extends Through 14 Sep 2014

Piece Of My Heart, the new musical about the life and career of songwriter Bert Berns, has extended by two weeks due to popular demand at the Irene Diamond Stage Pershing Square Signature Center, where it is now booking through 14 September 2014.

The show began previews on 25 Jun 2014 and had an official opening on 21 Jul 2014. It was previously booking through 31 Aug 2014.

The show opened to mixed-to-negative reviews, with most critics praising the music and central performances, but finding fault with the book: "We have hit rock bottom" (Vulture); "A mysterious jumble of too much information and not enough answers" (Newsday); "You're barely thinking about the Beatles. Instead, you're thinking about the music." (NY Times).

The cast of Piece Of My Heart features Zak Resnick as Bert Berns, Leslie Kritzer as Jessie, Linda Hart as Mom, Joseph Siravo as Wazzel, Tony Award nominee De'Adre Aziza as Candace, Derrick Baskin as Hoagy, and Teal Wicks as Ilene, with an ensemble that includes Carleigh Bettiol, Teresa Gattison, Shonica Gooden, Sydney James Harcourt, Harris Milgrim, Michael Millan, Gabrielle Ruiz, Amos Wolff, and Mark Zeisler.

Piece Of My Heart features a book by Daniel Goldfarb, with direction and choreography by Denis Jones. The creative team also includes Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design), David Woolard (Costume Design), Ben Stanton (Lighting Design), Carl Casella (Sound Design), Garry Sherman (Music Supervision & Orchestrations) and Lon Hoyt (Music Direction).

Synopsis: Bert Berns was born in New York in 1929 and died tragically of a heart attack at just 38 years of age. But in his short career, Berns left an indelible mark on popular music; he made fifty-one pop chart singles in seven years and became one of the most successful songwriters of the 1960s. Piece Of My Heart tells his remarkable story, once dubbed by Rolling Stone "one of the great untold stories of rock and roll," through his hit songs, which include "Twist and Shout," "Tell Him," "I Want Candy," "Hang On Sloopy," "Cry, Baby," and many more.

Piece Of My Heart is produced Off-Broadway by Merged Work Productions and Jack Thomas.

- by Dom O'Hanlon