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July 24, 2014
Review: Piece of My Heart
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Teal Wicks and Zak Resnick. Photo by Jenny Anderson.

A star is born in Piece of My Heart as the charismatic Zak Resnick takes on Bert Berns, the songwriter/producer behind some of the greatest hits of all time including “Twist and Shout”, “I Want Candy” and “Piece of My Heart”. When the show opens Bert is about to turn 30 and he only wants one thing out of life: to be known. Diagnosed with a fatal heart disease as a teenager, Bert knows that he needs to make every moment count and wants to leave behind a legacy of music. We follow his meteoric rise from hired-songwriter to record-label owner during the 60’s and even follow him to Havana, where the salsa rhythm helped him perfect the beats that would make the whole world dance.

Framed in flashback - we hear Bert’s story from his friend Wazzel (Joseph Siravo) who is telling it to Bern’s daughter Jessie (Leslie Kritzer) - the show is a jukebox musical of the highest order, as it cleverly goes beyond the conventions of using the music chronologically. Instead of telling Bert’s story by the songs, they tell it through the songs. Therefore we see Bert charm the sassy, tough-to-please Candace (De’Adre Aziza) off her feet by singing “I Want Candy” and later “Tell Him” is used to perfect comedic effect as one of the characters realizes they must come clean about their feelings.

The book by Daniel Goldfarb is enviably efficient, as he makes the most out of both the framing device and fictional liberties; Jessie for example doesn’t even exist in real life, but she is so well written that we wouldn’t know this if we didn’t research it. Denis Jones’ directing (and choreography) are vibrant to say the least, as there is not a single moment in the show where you’re not tapping your feet or clutching your heart. The show has a lot to say about the way in which artistic merit has little to do with popularity, and as such it can be quite critical of Berns’ thirst for fame, without ever being vicious about it.

Then there are the performances which despite being all brilliant individually, are at their best when taken in the context of the company. Linda Hart plays Bern’s widow Ilene and Teal Wicks plays a younger version of her, but these two wouldn’t be as effective if we didn’t see how Hart appropriates Wick’s gestures and longing expression and how Wicks, emulates Hart’s seductively authoritative presence. Same can be said for Bryan Fenakrt who plays young Wazzel with the Scorsese-ian charm of Siravo’s older version.

Kritzer is phenomenal as Jessie, as she brings to the stage her unique kind of humble star presence. As lovely as it is to hear her sing (because damn, can she sing!), there are few things as pleasurable as watching her stand to the side and watch her fellow actors perform, taking everything in with the childlike wonder we would think Jessie would feel as she discovered who her father was. Resnick is electrifying, from his very first moment onstage he commands our attention, breaks our heart and makes us swoon. He is the perfect Bert Berns, a combination of vulnerability and cockiness that make sure he indeed gets a piece of our heart. With a show like this, there’s simply no way Berns will remain a secret for long.

Through August 31 at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

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Written by: Jose Solis
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