Subtitled 鈥淭he Bert Berns Story,鈥� Piece of My Heart has a book by that traces the career of the 1960s composer of songs including the Beatles鈥� 鈥淭wist and Shout,鈥� plus 鈥淏rown Eyed Girl,鈥� 鈥淐ry Baby,鈥� 鈥淯nder the Boardwalk," "Hang on Sloopy鈥� and the Janis Joplin hit that gives the show its title. Berns died in 1967 at 38 of heart failure.
The show will be produced by Merged Work Productions (lead producers) and (executive producer), along with music-world icon and longtime David Letterman bandleader , and Joe Grano (). will direct and choreograph. Van Zandt will also serve as the show鈥檚 musical director.
Shaffer issued a statement saying, "When you take the toughest, most emotional songs in rock 'n' roll, pair them with the glamorous, romantic story of the bad boy who wrote them, then bring in a team like this one, you've got combustible dynamite!"
Specific dates and a theatre for the Broadway production have yet to be set. The initial Off-Broadway production ran July-September 2014 at the Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center. No casting has been announced, but an industry reading in March 2015 was performed by (as Berns), Drama Desk Award nominee , Tony Award nominee de鈥橝dre Aziza, Theatre World Award winner , plus , , , Joseph Siravo and Mark Zeisler, with an ensemble that includes Teresa Gattison, , , Harris Milgrim, Michael Millan, and . No word on whether any of them will take part in the Broadway production.
Click for details on the 2014 Off-Broadway run, and the initial announcement of the planned Broadway transfer.
