Photo Flash: Cissy Houston Visits PIECE OF MY HEART Off-Broadway

Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story, the new musical based on the life and songs of legendary songwriter Bert Berns, began previews at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center on June 25, 2014, with an official opening night on July 21, 2014. Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston's mother) visited PIECE OF MY HEART off-Broadway last night, September 3. Scroll down for photos of her with the cast and creative team!

The full cast of Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story includes Zak Resnick as Bert Berns, Drama Desk Award nominee Leslie Kritzer as Jessie, Theatre World Award-winnerLinda Hart as Mom, Joseph Siravo as Wazzel, Tony Award nominee de'Adre Aziza as Candace, Derrick Baskin as Hoagy, and Teal Wicks as Ilene,Bryan Fenkart as Young Wazzel, with an ensemble that includes Carleigh Bettiol, Teresa Gattison,Shonica Gooden, Sydney James Harcourt, Jessica McRoberts, Ralph Meitzler, Harris Milgrim, Michael Millan, Heather Parcells, Gabrielle Ruiz, Amos Wolff, and Mark Zeisler.

Bert Berns, whose life is also the subject of the just-released book Here Comes the Night, 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: The Bert Berns Story 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," "Piece of My Heart," and many more.

Photo Credit: Timmy Blupe