Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
Peace of My Heart, the Bert Burns story, is the new musical based on the songs and life
of legendary songwriter Bert Burns, who gave such hit songs as Twist and Shout
I want Candy and Cry Baby, and I'm here on Opening Night to celebrate with the company
Congratulations, it's opening night. How do you feel today? I feel amazing. It's been an incredible..
I mean, I've been working on this for five years, and the last four weeks of previews
the show has just grown. grown over five years but really putting it in front of an audience and letting an audience
hear these songs and connect with his music and this story has been incredibly exciting
What attracted you originally to write the book? Well I mean it was twofold. The story is incredible. He lived a really dramatic, interesting
life that no one knows about and he wrote some of the greatest music ever written
And the songs feel meaty. and soulful and that they could actually
that the songs he wrote could work in telling his story. That somehow, they were his story, you know
and that was, it was just an exciting, like, penny-drop moment that we could really use these songs
to tell the story of his life and not just use them in sort of like a concert kind of way
So that was really thrilling. So what did you learn about the piece over the last four weeks, adding the audience
into the mix here in New York? I mean, We learned a lot
Well, first of all, we learned that, you know, like, people just go crazy for Twist and Shout
You know, like, we, in the room, you sort of forget which songs are famous and which ones aren't
and you're looking at moments. And then all of a sudden, you put it in front of an audience
And people, I mean, these songs are in our bones, and people connect them in a deep way
Like, we had taken a verse out of Twist and Shout because we thought it was sort of slow
And then we put it in front of an audience, and we were like, you know, we got to double it and we got to put it in the curtain call
So that was really fun. And also just that people really went along for the ride
Like people, not only were they sort of responding to some of the humor
but people were sort of ooing and eyeing. And the show is very sincere
And that was sort of like I was hoping people would go with it. And it was thrilling that they did
And then once we knew they did, it sort of gave us freedom to go even further. You look stunning
It is opening night. How do you feel tonight? I feel great. The audience was just like, it was our friends and family, but they were just so loving and, you know, you could really just kind of feel that elation when everything comes together, when you've been working on a show for a long time
And it just felt really good, you know, to honor an untold story
And talk about what you do in the show, what you love about it. Playing a cougar. You know, I'm getting to the cougar portion of my
life and ain't not wrong with it you know so no I I get to have a lot of fun in
this one so I really enjoy that and singing his score the music is so soulful and
you know you've got some like gospel flavor Latin music and it's just like you
know it's sometimes you're in a show and you're kind of like oh these songs are
playing again but this one is always just like driving and the beat and sometimes
I stand in the wings and I watch like Linda Hart and stuff like that. So it's fine
Audiences are loving the show. What is it like when you get their reaction immediately
It's wonderful because, you know, when you work on stuff for so long, sometimes you can't see exactly what it is
And then it takes, you know, fresh eyes, people from the outside looking in
And it makes you feel good because it means that you're doing your job and you're telling the story
And working with this company of actors. Just talent to the left of men
Talent to the right of the right, It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Linda Hart is just like, that's a master class every night
And I got to meet Leslie Critzer on this one and Teal Wix, just two phenomenal women
And I'm just, you know, I feel blessed. I'm happy. If you could sum up the best part of the experience so far, what is it for you
Oh, man. Well, you know, music has always been my first love
And so, and I actually grew up listening to a lot of oldies
when like my friends were listening to contemporary music. So to find out that someone is finally getting their due
with being known, that just kind of makes you feel like you're a part of bringing someone to justice in that way
And that feels good as an artist. It's kind of like art meets like, you know, politics and kind of, yeah, I like that
Congratulations. It's opening night. The last time I saw you was in the rehearsal room
when you put that incredible morning together for the press. How do you feel tonight
It's exhilarating. I mean, we've had such lovely audiences, but I think tonight was probably the loveliest of all of them
And I think the show's in great shape, and we're very ready to share it with the world
So tonight was actually a huge pleasure. Tell me what you love about his songs and the material
I mean, you spearheaded this whole thing about what you wanted to do with this show. Yeah
Well, I mean, it's such an interesting catalog, because obviously there are the songs that we know very well
the songs that are part of our sort of American rock and roll songbook. But there's so much undiscovered material, so much of his music that nobody has ever heard
I think I take the greatest pleasure and pride in bringing that music to people
So many songs that should be radio songs, songs that we should all know
that no one's ever heard before. So I think those songs particularly are exciting to me
So what have the past four weeks been like during the preview period for you
Well, busy. Yeah, no, I mean, it's been busy, I think, in the best way
We had four lovely weeks of previews at Signature, which allowed us to put it in front of audiences and hear what works well and what doesn't work
and make adjustments and rewrites and cuts and expansions and, you know
do all of the things that I think a show in previews does. So hopefully we use that time well, and that has sort of brought us to tonight
You have used it well, believe me. And talk about this cast you're working with
cast is ridiculous. I mean, it's, I know them so well at this point. I mean, I'm, every day
I'm sort of thrilled by their talent. But again, like to hear the audience responses, um
for people that they don't necessarily know, uh, I'm just, every day kind of like, um
just sort of reinvest in my belief in their brilliance. Um, they're incredible
You are so good at what you do wearing both hats as choreographer and director
What do you love the most about wearing both those hats? Oh. What do I love most about it
I shouldn't say because I, you know, I spend most of my time as a choreographer
and collaborating with directors, which I love because it's great to have that other person there
to kind of to work with and to collaborate with and stuff I actually don know how to answer that question for this it was terrific to do both because I like to think that the sort of the movement the dance the the
it feels like it's all part of one idea. So I was very happy to have the opportunity to
approach it by myself. But I love collaborating with directors as well. It's all good. It's all
good. Congratulations. It's opening night. How do you feel? Man, we finally
finally made it, you know. It's been a long, long road and to finally put it on its feet
we can kind of live in it. The audiences are really loving it, and it's just a dream come
true, you know? I'm having the greatest time, yeah. The last time I saw you was in the rehearsal room that day you guys opened it for us
You blew the roof off of the signature. Oh, thank you. What was it like putting in front of an audience for the first time
For the first time, you know, the audience is the last cast member if you will, you know
It's the last piece to the puzzle. they let us know if we're telling the story right or if we're not telling it right, you know
And gladly they were with us, you know, and it just was heartwarming
They were clapping with us and yelling and screaming, so we knew we were on the right road
Yeah. Talk about what you do in the show. All right, so my character, his name is Hogi Lanz, who was a really good friend of Bert Burns
He actually was like one of Bert Burns' first artist that he used to give all of his songs to
And I have the pleasure of playing him. Talk about his beautiful songs. Did you know a lot of them before you started the show
I knew nothing of him, you know, which was funny. And I went on YouTube and saw a couple of clips on it
I was like, man, this guy can really sing. And I wanted to, you know, honor him and do him justice
And yeah, he was an amazing artist, really, really an amazing artist. And he never quite, you know, made it as a true successful artist
He definitely had some success, but he wasn't as big as I would have loved him to be. Yeah
And talk about working with the cast. Oh, man, this cast. Well, headed by Dennis, you know, Dennis Michael Jones is an amazing director
We've had the best time with him. He paints really good pictures. And this cast, man, I get to work with, I knew some of them, like Leslie Critzer
I've known her for years. We've never worked together. We've been friends for years. And to work with some of these people
And for the first time, it's just so fun. And it's so heartwarming
And no one takes themselves seriously, but they take the work very seriously. which makes working very fun
Do you have a favorite song you do in the show? My favorite song is Twits and Shout, man
It's my favorite. And I can't believe I actually sing it. You know, I can't believe I have the honor of singing it
And they let me put my own little spin on it, which is also great
My favorite song, yeah. You could sum up the best part of the experience of working on the show
What is it for you? Learning about a man who I feel like I should have known, you know
All these things. I knew about. I knew most of the songs. And to learn more about his life, to meet his children, to meet his family
and to see the love of this artist. You know, he's not in a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
He's not, he doesn't have the, he hasn't gotten the credit, you know, that he is long overdue
And to learn about this important pioneer in music, it's been inspiring
So here we are. I always love seeing you out of Broadway shows. Tell me why you wanted to see this one, Paul
Well, this, of course, is a, is a sub-substernment. is a subject close to my heart. The music of Bert Burns
and his life story, which is so incredibly interesting. But his stuff, you know
there's so much of it, so many hits, so much soulful stuff
and Latin influenced rock and roll. You know, absolutely marvelous. But, you know
my first job in New York was on Broadway. in 1974, The Magic Show, which was great music by Stephen Schwartz, but this is fantastic music by Mr. Bert Burns
Yeah? As collaborators. You tell me what you thought of the show tonight? I saw the show in a preview production of it or a workshop production of it a few months ago
I hear it's better now. I had to work on the David Letterman show for some of the last..
Oh, that little show. For some of the last times. So, no, you know, I was too late to go to the show
I couldn't get out of work. But I came over here, you know, just to tell everybody that I can't wait to see it
and I'm going to see it as soon as I can. Eventually, would you like to come back to Broadway in some capacity working on it
Working on Broadway. Well, it's everyone's, you know, dream to work on Broadway
And I'm working on Broadway now on Letterman. show, you know, we're at the theater right next to the Broadway theater, the Ed Sullivan
Theater. Broadway's fantastic, and of course, I would love to do it at any time, and it's
and it's hard work, though, to do shows. People don't understand it. Those eight a week
you know, talk about the discipline required in theater, that's why. But what memories do you
Magic Show was one of my all-time favorite shows with Doug Henning and Grover Dale put it together
I mean, talk about what it was like working in the memories you have of working. on the magic show. Well, it was my, you know, I had just moved to New York. I moved to New York
to do the magic show, and we were rehearsing on the Upper West Side somewhere in the 80s
I don't remember where. But Grover, of course, every day Anita, the late great Anita Morris
was his wife, and she was in the show and the cutest, sexiest thing. And I mean, I wouldn't
even know where to start. It was a hell of an experience on
I love seeing you come out to the theater all the time. Tell me what you thought tonight
It was fantastic. I was able to sit in on one of the readings months ago
so it was very exciting to see everybody up on stage and the way it was staged and choreographed
Amazing. I loved it. I thought it was great, and you loved it too. I was very, very impressed
I mean, a big, big fan of Bert Burns, so I was very happy when I heard it was going to happen
And obviously, we knew the songs would be great. But, you know, it's tricky
It's very, very difficult. These music-oriented type of biographical shows, you know, we did one ourselves, you know, with the rascals last year
And they're not as easy as they look, you know. But we found that the best way to do it is to tell the real story, rather than a fictionalized sort of, you know
I think most of the time there's an exception or two, but
But the fictionalized stories tend not to last, you know, where the real stories tend to do well, like Jersey boys, you know
And that's what we did with the rascals, too. We told the real story. This with Bert Burns is the real story
What about producing? You did such a beautiful job with putting the rascals together. I loved growing up with their music
I thought your show was phenomenal that you brought to New York. How much fun did you have working on that
It was amazing. It was a very long process. And we just, we were very, very involved in it
casting and of course Stephen was really very hands in it but it was it was just it was great because they were childhood heroes and both of ours and were from New Jersey They were mostly from New Jersey So it was just a real thrill to be able to do that and put them back together again and hear
people's reactions and see people's reactions. Yeah, and you're nervous as well because you don't want to screw it up
You know, I mean, because it's your heroes, because, you know, you're trying to present
them to a new generation or. do something that's going to last for many generations to come, hopefully
You don't want to do it right. So it was a little bit of the anxiety involved
But that opening night was the most thrilling night of my life. I mean, to hear people, you know, I've been, you know
when we've been in theater, her all life, I've been playing rock and roll my whole life. So we've been on that side, you know, of the stage
But to sit in an audience and have people laugh at something you wrote
or you know or cry at something you wrote was a whole new experience for me and
and thrilling it was just simply thrilling and I became a real theater person really
totally that night you know forever first of all it's opening night how do you feel
tonight I feel great so happy everything's great I'm so excited to be here doing the party
everything's wonderful I'm just so thrilled and finally made it because the last time I saw you
was in the rehearsal room when you guys blew the roof off of the signature that morning
What's it been like doing this show in front of an audience? I mean, it just, it comes alive, you know
I mean, it's like, it's totally different now that we're in front of people and we're able to share it
And that's why we're here. We want to share it with everyone. And so we're just so happy that we're able to do that
It's really the story of a man who really persevered and wanted to share his life and his legacy
And that's what is about. So we're just happy to be able to do that. Talk about what you do in the show
Well, I play his daughter, and, you know, she really didn't know her dad
and she really is on the quest to find out who her father was
And so that's really what it's about for me, and continuing his legacy
which is what I find my passion is in life when I don't really have one. Sure
Did you know his stuff well before you started the show? No, not really
Not really. No, I didn't. So this was, I mean, I knew Twist and Shout
I knew all this stuff, but I really didn't know him the way I know him now
So he's up there smiling. Oh, I know that. I'm just thrilled that we were all. I was brought up on these songs
I'm like, I had no idea who wrote these songs. Then when I saw the show, I was like, oh, my God, he wrote all these hit songs at such a young age before he passed away
I know. It's amazing. It's amazing. Right. Now you're working with this great cast, especially the woman next to you
I know, Linda. I love her. What's not to love? Love her. What's it been like working with this company
It's amazing. It's the most incredible cast ever. Love everyone and there's not a bad person in the group. Amazing
If you could sum up the best part of the experience of working on this show, what's it been for you, Leslie
You know what? Working with a group of people that really all put their, you know, putting on a musical is
the hardest thing to do. So now that we did that and we're putting it all together, it's just, we did it
And so we're just proud of each other. Congratulations. It's opening night. You look gorgeous. How do you feel
Show me. Open night of what? Peace of my heart. That's stunning. No more
Opening night of what? A piece of my heart. This is stunning. Who are you wearing
This is a new designer, Colin Davis Jones. Well, it is stunning. And your bag
Just the bag is Jimmy Crystal. And that's that and that's the broken heart
Gorgeous. How do you feel tonight? I feel like a piece of my heart flew off the stage tonight
I'm so happy to be the heart in peace of my heart. It was a really wonderful experience
The audience got everything, heard everything, enjoyed everything, and seemed to really appreciate it
And it was thrilling. To have the Bert Byrne story told that hasn't been told
people do not know his name, and to have this incredible music
51 songs on the chart between 1960-1967. This is a tragedy that this man isn't known
but I think tonight might change that. Oh, I think it will. Tell me what it's like, been working on this show
what it's been like for you. I've been working on the show for four years
doing lots of workshops, and we did Basser, and it's been a slow process of getting to sort of define the character
because I can't wait to meet the real Eileen Burns, and she's coming
And Eileen, we're waiting for you with open arms. And I hope she appreciates the version, and I can't wait to tell her how, you know
she was very successful, as successful as Bert. She ran the publishing and the catalog and Bang Records after Bert died for many years
So she was quite accomplished. And hell of a woman, raised three kids on her own, ran a business by herself
So it's kind of thrilling to be playing such a powerful woman in that decade
And working with this cast. Cast is fantastic. Leslie Critzer, who plays my daughter, who we never got to do here
spray together, but she came into hairspray. But we got to do great American trailer park together
I love her. I get her sense of humor. We get each other
And it's a real thrill to have such talent on stage. Everybody can dance, everybody can sing, and everybody can act
If you could sum up the best part of the experience for you, Linda, with working on this show, what is it
singing I'm a liar. A song that Bert wrote that was recorded by Betty Harris
and is one of the very few songs in the show that wasn't a giant hit
So to get to sing a song that is a totally almost new song
but it tells his story. It tells his story beautifully. It's almost as if he wrote it now for the character
And Betty Harris has been to see us a couple times. she will come back and she does a song brilliantly
But I'm thrilled to get to do it as well. You all look great. You look gorgeous
How do you feel tonight? Really, really great. It was, you know, the audience was just so wonderful and so appreciative
And it was a blast. We've been on a long road with this show and it feels really good to just be an opening
Tell me what it's been like working on the show. It's just, it's been, I mean, it's been a while since I've done like a really, really new piece
and having pre-existing music. It's tricky trying to find the balance of the songs
and having them being storytelling songs when they're sort of pop songs
and using that in the storytelling So there like little snips here and there that we been doing but mostly trying to streamline everything And it feels like now we sort of reached the point where we just going on the journey every night
tell them the story. It's good. Talk about what you do in the show and what you love about playing her
Oh, Eileen. I play Miss Young Eileen. I play the young version of Miss Fabulous Linda Hart
So just try to live up to Linda Hart is a whole
is a whole ordeal in itself. And it's so fun to embrace her
And I get to jump up on a box and do a little go-go dancing with a little fringe
And it's really fun. I get really nervous every night before it
And it's always super fun and just totally just free and easy up there
You could sum up the best part of the experience for you with working on the show. What is it
It is absolutely every single person that's been involved in the show. The cast is amazing
The creatives are spectacular. Like everybody is sweet, genuine, huge-hearted people that work
their butts off and it's that's a joy you all clean up so well you look sensational
who are you wearing uh tom ford that is amazing yeah it is i love it's my favorite
okay it's opening night how do you feel tonight oh man it's uh relieved probably that's the first
word that popped into my head it's been um an amazing process and i'm just so glad that we get to
celebrate it and just focus on telling this story now tell me what it's been like working on this
show it's it's honestly been a dream i mean To dream come true for me to be able to play a role like this
And, you know, Bert, I think just it's so time to tell this story
I've been saying that I think any one of the things that Bert has done in his career makes him a legend
And you take all of the things that he's done in his career. And it's just, I mean, it's an unbelievable body of work
And I'm so glad to be able to be part of the telling of that story. And singing these songs, I mean, he wrote all these hit songs at such a young age before he passed away
Yeah. Yeah, the songs, I mean, you really couldn't ask for much more, especially from a jukebox musical
I mean, the songs have heart, no pun intended, or I guess full pun intended
And, you know, they move the story along in a nice way and melodic, obviously, in the best way
And it's just, it's really, it's a dream. It's great. What it's like playing him, did you do a lot of research
I did a fair amount of research. I mean, most of the research was just having Brett and Cassie, his kids, in the room
It was so great to just hear from them. You know, I mean, they are the biggest source of knowledge as to who this man was
But other than that, I mean, sort of we don't really know, actually, his story
We're taking from here and from here, and, you know, Brett and Cassie don't really know either. They take from their mom, they take from Wazel, and that's sort of how the story is drawn as well
So we're all kind of guessing as to who he was, and we're trying to do sort of the best job that we can
Do you have a favorite song? Here comes tonight, for sure. How come
I mean, it's an act on finale. It's like, it's just, as an actor, it's just the best moment
It's so fun for me. If you could sum up the best part of the experience of working on this show, what's it been for you, Zach
The people, hands down. I mean, there is no denying. the ability in that room
I mean, you just sit there and you just let... I don't think that there's anything better
than going to a show and knowing that you're in good hands. And I have always felt in very good hands with these people
What is tonight mean to the two of you? Finally. I'm just so happy we're here
We're just happy to be celebrating, let our hair down a little bit. It's a culmination of 11 years since we originated the idea
in seven years in New York working in the whole. heart of the New York theater community and it's really a dream come true to
have it happen tonight. You know the last time I saw you too was in the rehearsal room where you guys blew
the roof off the signature at like 10 o'clock in the morning and you're doing that
every night of the theater. Audiences are loving the show. What is it like for the
two of you sitting there watching the audience react to your dad's music
It really is a dream come true. I mean the jokes are landing, the tears are falling
and people leave knowing who Bert Burns is and that is if we do nothing else
They know him now through his music too. It is surreal and we brought our father back to life on the living stage and that was always our goal and when his friends and family come and see the show and they're like that's Bert
That's the greatest validation we could ever imagine for the show It's funny. I'm sure the audience sits there and says oh my god. I didn't know Bert wrote that. Oh my god here comes another one and he wrote all these songs at such a young age before he passed
And they were all such personal songs. That's what I love about your dad's they were all about what he was going through right a lot of this
We didn't really understand that until much later. When we took to heart, our mother would say to us
your dad said one thing, my children will know me through my music
And growing up, twist and shout and hang on Sloopy, they don't tell you that much
I mean, I'm so proud of those songs. But when we started to steep ourselves into the deeper R&B catalog
we learned about really how deep his soul was. And the songs are so autobiographical
and that was a major revelation for us, and it made it very sort of easy to tell his story in his own song
And I love the way the story is being told. I mean, talk about the whole process of working on it
and watching it grow over the years, and particularly over the last four weeks
I mean, it's just been the longest journey. We've been at New York Theater at New York Stage and Film
Here we are at the Signature Theater, you know, is sort of like a forewall, but, I mean, they really put their arms around us
and we gave ourselves a nice long rehearsal period and preview period
and Dennis Jones has been masterful, his direction, and his choreography. And Daniel Goldfarb
And I can't believe the changes that happen all the way up until the last day
and just tightening up everything so that it's just moving. I'm so proud of the work that everybody has done to make this show happen
That's what it's like here in New York. I mean, that's you had a beautiful preview period
But the audience is that extra character that's brought in it when you keep honing and honing and honing and all the pieces come together
Yeah, no, it's been incredible to watch the audience reaction. of this show and you know i mean it's really uh you know we really when we set out we didn't realize
that like it would have this kind of impact especially with like you know you know everybody
loves the show it's like you know the uh the the african americans the jews the italian everybody
everybody's yeah something very i just talk about the cast what a beautiful cast my gosh the
cast thank you rachel hawkman and tells me rachel our cast are just one after the other
dreamy dreamy i mean really come see this show you guys It's a treat
So my final question is, when the cast took their bow tonight, what went through your minds
Well, I lost my voice about three days ago, screaming for every one of them as they come out
starting with Teresa Gattison. She takes the stage first, and I don't know, she's been with us for a long time
and she brings such spirit and soul. But, I mean, really, I lost my voice because every one of them deserves a full woo-hoo
Yeah, we couldn't be more proud and in love with this cast. It really, I feel like it's one of the greatest companies working in New York today
and we just thank you, we love them all