Thanks to a concerted effort by his family, Berns is finally receiving that due. Respected journalist Joel Selvin’s well-received bio, Here Comes the Night: Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues, was published in 2014, followed months later by the acclaimed Off Broadway musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story. With Van Zandt leading the charge, Berns was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year.

A musical celebrating the little-know songwriter Bert Berns has gotten some help from some serious musicians — Steven Van Zandt and Paul Shaffer.

A musical celebrating the little-know songwriter Bert Berns has gotten some help from some serious musicians — Steven Van Zandt and Paul Shaffer.

The E Street Band member and the former musical director of David Letterman’s late night show have signed on to produce the jukebox musical “Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story,” aiming for Broadway next year under the direction and choreography of Denis Jones.

Steven Van Zandt’s wide-ranging arts resume just added a new line.

The songwriter, actor, radio DJ and E Street Band icon was announced Monday as music director for “Piece Of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story,” a theater production slated for a Broadway opening in 2016.

Inching closer to a Broadway bow, the musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story has added a few a-listers to its above-the-title producing roster.

Merged Work Productions (Lead Producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer) have brought on music-world icons and television stars Steven Van Zandt and Paul Shaffer, along with Maureen Van Zandt and Joe Grano (Jersey Boys), for the Broadway-bound musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story as lead producers. It was also announced that Mr. Van Zandt will serve as the show’s musical director. Piece of My Heart will open on Broadway in 2016.

No need to “Cry Baby!” Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story is still looking to land on Broadway in 2016. Steven Van Zandt, founding member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, will serve as musical director as well a producer on the project, alongside Paul Shaffer, Maureen Van Zandt and Joe Grano (Jersey Boys).

The Off-Broadway League today announced nominations in 18 categories for the 30th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway.

Mention “Twist And Shout” to a Boomer and you’ll get a shake of the thinning hair or shaved scalp along with recollections of the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show. The more knowing response may even be the Isley Brothers, who recorded it first, in 1962. Ask who wrote the iconic rock number, however, and you’re more than likely to draw a blank look. Answer: Bert Berns.

Carleigh Bettiol has recently stepped into the role of ‘Young Ilene’ in off-Broadway’s Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story. The new musical is based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, and is set to conclude its run this Sunday, September 14 after extending its initial run by two weeks.

Zak Resnick just can’t get away from 1650 Broadway. Even now that he’s no longer on the block (where he worked as a server at Stardust Diner and starred in Mamma Mia!), in some ways he’s closer than ever. Through September 14, Resnick is starring in Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story as the eponymous songwriter Bert Berns — who penned such ubiquitous hits as “Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy,” and “Brown Eyed Girl” from his office in that same iconic building.

Chances are that you’ve never heard of a man named Bert Berns. But most likely you know the songs “Twist and Shout,” “Piece of My Heart,” “I Want Candy,” “Here Comes the Night,” and “Hang On Sloopy.”

Zak Resnick is rocking in the role of a lifetime: as 1960s songwriter-producer Bert Berns in Piece of My Heart at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Zak Resnick, star of Off-Broadway’s Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, had just stepped out of the shower when he took my call. Could there be a cleaner interview? Certainly, the rising star lays out the naked truth on his school days at Carnegie Mellon, doing the rounds in NYC for six years and finally grasping the brass ring in his current gig.

The Brill Building is taking over the musical stage! Already represented on Broadway by the Tony-winning “Beautiful” (Carole King) and “Jersey Boys” (the Four Seasons), the iconic songwriters’ building has now given birth to Off-Broadway’s “Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story.”

He was born in the Bronx and died too soon in 1967, but Bert Berns still managed to write many memorable songs like “Hang on Sloopy” and “Twist ‘n Shout.”

Zak Resnick stars as R&B songwriter and producer Bert Berns, the “forgotten man” of the classic R&B era, in the new musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, directed by Denis Jones and now extended through September 14 at the off-Broadway Pershing Square Signature Center.

As any old lady on the Upper West Side will tell you, “There’s a lid for every pot.” But get together with any group of single New York women, and they’ll ask: “Where are these men — er, lids — of which you speak?”

Pop culture icon Perez Hilton just stopped by the show and BroadwayWorld brings you photos from backstage!

They never knew their father, but the children of songwriter Bert Berns have spent the better part of a decade trying to rescue him from oblivion.

Featuring a book by Daniel Goldfarb and direction and choreography by Denis Jones, Piece of My Heart — one of Berns’ most well-known songs — began previews June 25 and officially opened July 21.

Merged Work Productions and Jack Thomas announced today that Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, the crowd-pleasing new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, will extend its current run two extra weeks, and play its final performance on Sunday, September 14.

The off-Broadway production of Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story has extended its run at The Pershing Square Signature Center through Sunday, September 14.

Come on and take it…for a little bit longer! Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story has extended its off-Broadway run at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

A new off-Broadway musical is based on the short life of a songwriter and music producer from the Bronx.

Bette Midler took a field trip to the Pershing Square Signature Center to catch Piece of My Heart and visit a dear friend—Linda Hart, who appeared in Midler’s trio of backup singers, the Harlettes, in the ‘70s and ’80s.

Teal Wicks (Wicked, Jekyll & Hyde) is heating up the stage this summer in the ’60s musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story. The killer beltress hops in the BroadwayBox time machine for six questions about the 1960s.

In this week’s video, the actress de’Adre Aziza sings “Are You Lonely For Me” from “Piece of My Heart,” a new jukebox musical about the life of the songwriter Bert Berns, whose hits include “I Want Candy,” “Twist and Shout” and “Hang On Sloopy.”

Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, opened Off-Broadway July 21 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Members of the cast pick their favorite songs by Berns as part of this week’s Playbill Playlist.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, produced by Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer), opened last night, July 21, 2014, at the The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, opened Off-Broadway July 21 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, produced by Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer), opened last night, July 21, 2014, at the The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Zak Resnick stars as songwriter Bert Berns in Piece of My Heart, which opens July 21 Off-Broadway. With a book by Daniel Goldfarb and direction and choreography by Denis Jones, the new musical features the hits of the legend including the titular tune, “Twist and Shout,” “Cry Baby,” “I Want Candy” and “Here Comes the Night.”

As previews were wrapping up last week, Zak Resnick chatted with BroadwayWorld about the impending opening of Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, what it’s like playing such a complex character, and much more.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story celebrates its official opening night on July 21 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center. The off-Broadway bio-musical, directed and choreographed by Denis Jones, stars Zak Resnick as the titular songwriter.

Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, opens Off-Broadway July 21 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Zak Resnick stars as the handsome and headstrong songwriter at its core.

If you’ve seen Jersey Boys and Beautiful so often you’re combing your hair in a pompadour and making daily trips to the Brill Building, it’s time to check out Piece of My Heart.

The man who wrote the songs “Twist and Shout,” “Piece of My Heart,” and “I Want Candy” isn’t in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, or in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he does have a new musical, a new book, and an upcoming documentary all coming out within the next year.

Song catalogues continue to be catnip for producers, though in the case of Off-Broadway’s Piece of My Heart, it’s the children of 60s songwriter Bert Berns who have brought his music to the stage.

Brett and Cassie Berns, along with cast members Zak Resnick and Linda Hart, stop by Fox 5 to discuss Piece of My Heart, opening at The Pershing Square Signature Center July 21st.

Both leading ladies participate in a recurring feature where the author asks actors random, often silly, questions taken directly from the subject matter or text of the show.

Even in his mid-1960s heyday, Bert Berns was barely known beyond the obsessives who studied songwriters’ and producers’ credits on 45 r.p.m. records and LP album jackets. But now, Bert Berns is having a moment. On Monday, a new musical named for another of his well-known songs, “Piece of My Heart,” opens Off Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

You know the music. Now, get to know the man behind the music.
The new jukebox musical “Piece of My Heart” tells the story of the late Bert Berns, the record producer and songwriter behind such notable tunes like “Twist and Shout,” “Hang on Sloopy” and, of course, “Piece of My Heart.”

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, is currently in previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014.

Footage has been released of the new off-Broadway musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, which is set to begin performances at the Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25.

Zak Resnick is giving a breakout performance that just can’t be missed in the new off-Broadway musical Piece of My Heart. The young Mamma Mia! vet brings major star quality and killer vocals to the central role of Bert Berns, the man behind some of the biggest hit songs of the 1960s.

The new musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story examines the life and legacy of pop songwriter Bert Berns.

A biographical musical about the life of ’60s songwriter Bert Berns.

The new off-Broadway musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story began performances on June 25. The show is inspired by the life of songwriter Bert Berns, whose list of famous compositions includes “Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy,” and the title number, made famous by rock legend Janis Joplin. Take a look at some of the first images of the actors onstage at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, is currently in previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action!

What Rolling Stone called “one of the great untold stories of rock and roll” is finally being told.

Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, begins Off-Broadway previews June 25 at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center.

Come on and take it! Tickets are now available for Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, which begins performances on June 25.

Produced by Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas(Executive Producer), Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, begins performances tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 25, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014.

The new musical, “Piece of My Heart”, is based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns. He made fifty-one pop chart singles in seven years and became one of the most successful songwriters of the 1960s.

Drama Desk nominee Leslie Kritzer, Teal Wicks and Tony Award nominee de’Adre Aziza are among the cast of Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns that will open Off-Broadway July 21.

The new musical Piece of My Heart is about to begin performances off-Broadway, and we are just dead on the floor after looking at these gorgeous promo shots by Jenny Anderson.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, an upcoming new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, begins previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25, 2014, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014.

The life and career of the famed songwriter is just days from its off-Broadway debut.

Twist and Shout, Under the Boardwalk, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Piece of My Heart, Brown Eyed Girl and Hang on Sloopy. They are seminal pop hits and all involved, either as songwriter, producer or arranger, a man called Bert Berns. But how many people know about Berns, who was behind 51 hits in just seven years from 1961. That is poised to change with a new musical, Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, which opens in previews on June 25 and will be running Off-Broadway from July 21 at The Pershing Square Signature Centre, New York.

The little-known biography of the ’60s composer who wrote more than 50 pop hits in 17 years, has been made into a new musical at Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St.

A press preview of the new Off-Broadway musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story was held at The Rehearsal Studio of the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, an upcoming new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, begins previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25, 2014, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014. BroadwayWorld caught up with the cast- check below for an exclusive behinds-the-scenes look at the show and cast!

Drama Desk nominee Leslie Kritzer, Teal Wicks and Tony Award nominee de’Adre Aziza are among the cast of Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns that will open Off-Broadway July 21.

The songwriter and record producer’s children, Brett and Cassie Berns, are mounting a jukebox bio-musical on their late father’s life, hoping it will add to his legacy.

There’s a new musical about to open in previews on June 25th, with an official opening night on July 21st – “Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story.”

Hits such as “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Twist and Shout” and “Hang on Sloopy” made Bert Berns one of his era’s most successful songwriters and producers before he died in 1968, yet few people outside the music industry ever knew about him. That could change with a new musical, “Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story” which begins previews on June 25 and opens Off-Broadway on July 21.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, an upcoming new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, begins previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25, 2014, with an official opening night set for July 21, 2014. The cast just met the press and you can check out photos from the special event below!

Today, 106.7 LITE FM announced the return of its much-anticipated, annual lunchtime theatre summer series, ‘106.7 LITE FM’s Broadway in Bryant Park.’ The 2014 program will present the best of Broadway, FREE to the public, on six consecutive Thursdays beginning July 10 at 12:30 p.m. on the Bryant Park Stage.

The cast of the new off-Broadway musical Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story met the press on June 11.

Many of the hit-making songwriters of the 1960s are remembered by name: Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Lennon-McCartney, Holland-Dozier-Holland. But the man who wrote (or co-wrote) classics like “Twist and Shout,” “Piece of My Heart,” “Hang on Sloopy,” “I Want Candy” and “Here Comes the Night” remains unknown to all but the most ardent music fans.

Burt Berns loved music, probably more than anything else. Berns is the subject of a new biography, an Off-Broadway musical and a forthcoming documentary.

Bryan Fenkart, Jessica McRoberts, Ralph Meitzler and Heather Parcells complete the cast of Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns that will open Off-Broadway July 21, lead producers Merged Work Productions and executive producer Jack Thomas announced May 13.

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, an upcoming musical based on the life of the legendary songwriter, has announced its full cast.

The full cast has been announced for Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, an upcoming new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns.

You may not know his name, but you sure know his songs. After years in the shadows, Berns is now the subject of a new book, an upcoming Broadway musical, and a documentary film.

Producers Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer) announced today the cast of the upcoming new musical, Piece of My Heart, based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns.

In conversation with Soundcheck executive producer Joel Meyer, Joel Selvin explains what drove Bert Berns and makes a case for his lasting legacy.

The new musical about the life and career of Songwriter Bert Berns called Piece of My Heart, which will premiere Off Broadway at the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center this Summer with previews beginning on 25 Jun 2014 and an official opening set for 21 Jul 2014, has now announced full casting.

Producers Merged Work Productions and Jack Thomas announced today the cast of the upcoming new musical, Piece of My Heart, based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns.

Full casting has been announced for Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns. The show is set to begin previews at the Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25, with an official opening set for July 21.

Zak Resnick, Drama Desk nominee Leslie Kritzer, Teal Wicks and Tony Award nominee de’Adre Aziza are among the cast of Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns that will open Off-Broadway July 21, lead producers Merged Work Productions and executive producer Jack Thomas announced April 28.

Stage favorites Leslie Kritzer (Legally blonde, Hairspray), Teal Wicks (Wicked) and Zak Resnick (Mamma Mia!) will appear in the previously announced Piece of My Heart, a new biographic musical about the life and songs of songwriter Bert Berns.

A new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns will open Off Broadway this summer, Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer) announced today.

“Twist and Shout.” “Under the Boardwalk.” “Piece of My Heart.” “Brown-Eyed Girl.” The songs are recognized almost everywhere. But their Jewish creator, Bert Berns, has nearly vanished into obscurity.

Meet the little-known songwriter behind “Twist & Shout,” “Brown-Eyed Girl” and many more hits.

A new musical about the life and career of Songwriter Bert Berns called Piece Of My Heart will premiere Off Broadway at the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center this Summer.

A new jukebox musical about the 1960s-era songwriter and record producer Bert Berns, featuring hits including “Twist and Shout,” “I Want Candy” and “Hang On, Sloopy,” will begin a commercial Off Broadway run at Signature Center on June 25 and open on July 21, the producers announced on Thursday.

The New York stage can’t get enough stories about songwriters (think Beautiful, Motown, and Jersey Boys), and now there’s a new one on its way.

Piece of My Heart, a new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, will open Off-Broadway July 21, lead producers Merged Work Productions and executive producer Jack Thomas announced March 13.

Piece of My Heart, a new musical about the life and career of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, will open off-Broadway this summer.

A new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns will open Off Broadway this summer, Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and Jack Thomas (Executive Producer) announced today.