What the Broadway legends had to say…
“I would stage that at any Broadway theater tonight.”
— Joseph Stein, Bookwriter for Fiddler on a Roof, after presentation of excerpts from “Dead End the Musical” at the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop
“Let’s get this musical to Broadway as soon as possible!”
— Sidney Kingsley, Author of “Dead End” the play, while heading to Sardi’s for cocktails with the producers after a reading at the Dramatists Guild
“The work is professional and always honest.”
— Stephen Sondheim, in a letter to the creative team after listening to a recording of a live Dramatists Guild workshop presentation
Almost ninety years after its Broadway premiere, Sidney Kingsley’s enduring landmark play, "Dead End", has been adapted into a powerful and entertaining musical. Like Kingsley’s play in 1935, DEAD END THE MUSICAL, set on Manhattan’s East Side during the Depression, shines a light on the social ills of a time and place that resonate today: hunger, poverty, crime, class struggle, and economic and social inequality. It is also a story about justice and redemption, love and desire, hopes and dreams.
DEAD END THE MUSICAL is the third concept musical album from the award winning songwriting team of Neil Fishman and Harvey Edelman, whose previous two albums garnered numerous Audie and SOVAS awards. Teamed with Peter C. Palame with whom they created the wildly entertaining Off-Broadway show, “On The Air,” the trio have collaborated on a musical set in the 1930’s that is meant for our times.
DEAD END THE MUSICAL is a gritty, realistic story of a young woman activist seeking a better life for her and her teenage brother, an unemployed architect envisioning a better world, a kept woman who clings to a rich man lest she slip back into poverty, and a notorious gangster returning to recapture the innocence of his childhood. All the while, a group of rich folks literally look down on this neighborhood from their adjacent luxury tower, as the neighborhood kids roam the streets with unbridled antics and carefree innocence.
“Dead End” the play, subsequently made into an Academy Award nominated film starring Humphrey Bogart, Claire Trevor, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney, was also the genesis for the iconic Dead End Kids.
The concept album of DEAD END THE MUSICAL, released on May 1st, 2022, has a cast of 16 Broadway caliber performers and twenty musical numbers. As a full length, fully orchestrated, multicast production, with sound effects and musical underscoring, the concept album delivers a truly theatrical experience.
Young theatre lovers will identify with the vitality and mischievous fun of the Dead End Kids, and older audiences will be enthralled by the classic American story portraying a very real and human drama.
Dead End the Musical is a story of poverty, hunger, social injustice and income inequality, but it is mostly about dreams for a better life. We had a dream too… to take Sidney Kingsley’s Depression era landmark play and turn it into a powerful and entertaining musical for a new generation of musical theater enthusiasts. Welcome to our dream…
— Harvey Edelman, Neil Fishman, and Peter C. Palame, the writers and producers of DEAD END THE MUSICAL
Creative Team
MUSIC BY NEIL FISHMAN - LYRICS BY HARVEY EDELMAN - Mr. Fishman and Mr. Edelman are the authors and producers of the first multicast audiobook musical, entitled “Spin: The Rumpelstiltskin Musical,” distributed by HarperAudio, and featuring Jim Dale, legendary Broadway performer and the voice of the Harry Potter series. The music of Spin was composed by Mr. Fishman, who also did the musical arrangements for the audio book. Mr. Edelman wrote the book and lyrics and co-adapted his original stage play to the audio book with David B. Coe. The cast of Spin, a witty musical re-imagining of the Grimm’s fairy tale, also features a stellar list of Broadway and audiobook performers. Spin won an Audie for Most Original Work and was the recipient of two 2018 SOVAS awards including “Outstanding Production - Audiobook” and “Audiobook Narration - Children, Best Voice Over (the cast)”. Spin also won a 2018 Parents Choice Silver Medal.
Their audiobook musical, “Puss In Boots a Musical,” released in August 2019, also features Jim Dale as narrator, along with a stellar cast of Broadway veterans. Edelman and Fishman adapted their 1992 stage play with the help of Khristine Hvam, a veteran audiobook narrator, director, and producer. “Puss in Boots a Musical,” won two 2019 SOVAS Awards for Best Voiceover in a Children’s Production and Outstanding Audiobook Production.
The pair first collaborated on a musical adaptation of George Farquar's restoration comedy, "The Beaux' Stratagem," entitled, "To Bed a Fortune," which was produced in 1976.
The writing duo have also collaborated on a number of educational works including "Songsleuth" a musical designed to be performed by sixth graders for their classmates. Songsleuth was published in the Macmillan Publishing Educational Series, "Music and You" and a recording of the songs is part of the accompanying "Music and You" soundtrack on CBS Records. The 1995 edition of "Music and You" contains "Earthkids," a musical that teaches children about environmental concerns. "Earthkids" has also been performed live in theaters in the New York area.
Mr. Edelman and Mr. Fishman have also written and produced a number of songs about hygiene, nutrition, and dental care for the national Headstart Program, sponsored by the Soap and Detergent Association, Weightwatchers, and Colgate-Palmolive, respectively.
In 1989, they were commissioned by the Pittsburgh Playhouse to write a musical version of "Puss 'n Boots," for its Spring Season and serve as Artists In Residence prior to its debut. "Puss In Boots, the Musical" was subsequently produced in other regional and community theaters. The genesis of that commission was the Pittsburgh Playhouse's production of an earlier Edelman/Fishman children's musical, "Rumpelstiltskin," originally produced in northern New Jersey.
Their other works include "On The Air," a musical spoof of the Golden Age of Radio, which first appeared Off-Broadway in 1984 with numerous subsequent theater productions, and a musical about independent business people entitled, "Entrepreneurs,” which they wrote with Mel Friedman. Their current project, “Dead End the Musical” adapted from Sidney Kingsley's landmark play, "Dead End," was first developed in the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop and subsequently chosen for a staged reading at the Dramatists Guild Musical Theater Workshop.
“Nighlights” is a collection of songs that recounts the true story of how people of all faiths and races came together in the town of Billings, Montana in 1993 to successfully fight a group of haters threatening the town’s tiny Jewish population and other minorities. Songs from “Nightlights” were first performed in a musical at the Passage Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey in 2005.
Mr. Fishman received his formal musical education at Juilliard Preparatory Division and later earned his degree at Yale University. Beside his work as a composer and producer, he has also done extensive work as musical director, vocal coach, and arranger. Mr. Fishman is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Mr. Edelman earned a degree in Journalism from Georgia State University. In addition to his work as lyricist and producer, he has written the librettos for a number of their musicals including, "Rumpelstiltskin," "Songsleuth," "Earthkids," and "Puss 'n Boots." He also has a blog, The Accidental Caddie, recounting his experiences with his son as a junior golfer. Mr. Edelman is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild.
BOOK BY PETER C. PALAME - Mr. Palame has been in the business of entertaining audiences for almost 50 years, from Off-Broadway and Regional theater to Casino and Cabaret revues and Celebrity Concerts. As Executive Producer and Artistic Director for his production company Palame Productions LLC, he has produced hundreds of plays and musicals, as well as numerous original musicals and revues.
As a director, Mr. Palame has been at the helm of over two hundred professional productions, including just about all the musicals from the golden age of Broadway including, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Damn Yankees, Singin’ In The Rain and Hair.
His has written the Librettos for several original musicals including, ELLIS ISLAND, JOLSON, MOON LIGHT SERENADE (The Glen Miller Story), and the hit Andrews Sisters musical, APPLE BLOSSOM TIME.
On September 10, 2002, Mr. Palame’s, original production, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, a tribute to the city after the terrible events of the previous year, debuted at The Brook Theater. This production was commissioned as a fundraiser for the FDNY and NYC POLICE FOUNDATION with the proceeds going to help the first responders and their families. The musical received citations from both the city and the first responders’ organizations and went on to have a six-month run..
As a director and venue representative for celebrity concerts, Mr. Palame worked directly with the artists, executing and overseeing the venue and all technical needs for the concert. The artists included Willie Nelson, Marie Osmond, Robert Klein, Phillys Diller, and Joe Piscopo, among others.
Mr. Palame’s collaboration with Mr. Fishman and Mr. Edelman began in 1982 with their critically acclaimed, ON THE AIR, an all-original musical comedy tribute to 1940’s radio. The original OFF-BROADWAY production was unanimously, praised by the NY and East Coast critics, and went on to be produced by theaters across the U.S. to this day.
Dead End the Musical was first developed through the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop and was chosen to present a reading of the musical at the Dramatist Guild, for an audience made up of Broadway composers, lyricists and book writers. Mr. Palame’s adaptation of Mr. Kingsley’s play is one of the highlights of his career, affording him the chance to meet and spend time with the late Mr. Kingsley, both in NY and at his home in Oakland, NJ. Mr. Palame states “Coming out of retirement to collaborate with Harvey and Neil on this project has been one of the most creative and fun times I have had in the theater.
Mr. Palame has an MFA degree from Miami University of Ohio. He received a graduate assistantship scholarship and taught undergraduate courses in the theater department at the university. A native of NY and NJ for over thirty-five years, Peter now resides in Phoenix, Arizona with Linda, his spouse of forty nine years. Mr. Palame is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Concept Album
STORY SYNOPSIS
Note: Contains some scatological language that some people may find offensive, as well as some subtle but adult situations. Not recommended for young children.
TRACK 2 - ACT ONE
New York City. The Depression. 1930’s. A poor neighborhood along the East River, adjacent to new luxury high rises. Neighborhood kids, DIPPY, SPIT, TB, and ANGEL, running from the cops for minor mischief reach the wharf, their regular hangout. Starting a card game, the kids sing IT’S IN DUH CARDS, about the people around them and their lot in life. After the song, we meet the DOORMAN of the luxury building; GIMPTY, an out of work architect; TOMMY, the gang leader; and DRINA, his activist sister, who may have a crush on GIMPTY. Afterwards, when TOMMY asks GIMPTY why he’s always drawing unfamiliar homes, GIMPTY sings PAPER HOUSES, about his vision for a better world, and his frustrations trying to turn his vision into reality. Following the song, we get a momentary glimpse of rich and poor world’s colliding during an exchange between the kids and older residents of the fashionable apartment building encroaching on the neighborhood. Two slickly dressed strangers appear, BABY FACE MARTIN and HUNK. MARTIN, we learn, is a product of this neighborhood and, growing weary of his criminal life on the run, has become nostalgic to see his mother and his childhood sweetheart, FRANCEY. Then there’s an exchange between the gang and the rich kid next door, PHILLIPE, leading into RICH FOLKS, illustrating comically how the kids perceive the rich. After the song, GIMPTY confronts MARTIN momentarily, who he thinks he might know. After, kids meet MILTY, the new kid on the block and attack him. DRINA shows up to break it up and confront her brother TOMMY and SPIT. DRINA talks with GIMPTY revealing a bit of their relationship as well as DRINA’s labor strike activism. GIMPTY mentions KAY, his new “girlfriend” and DRINA, inwardly jealous, subtlety reacts and leaves. GIMPTY encounters MARTIN again and makes the connection to the notorious gangster he knows from the neighborhood ten years before. GIMPTY says he’ll keep his mouth shut and MARTIN trusts him. HUNK, his sidekick, doesn’t. MARTIN, with GIMPTY dialogue, sings OUT WEST about realty vs. fiction and the media, providing a back story of his evolution from street punk to most wanted criminal, while making it clear to GIMPTY that there will be consequences if he turns him in. After the song, MARTIN explains he’s returned to see his mom and FRANCEY, his old girlfriend, part of him still hankering for traditional values like a home, family, and steady girlfriend. After MARTIN sends ANGEL to find his mom, we meet KAY for first time talking to GIMPTY. She’s in a loveless relationship with HILTON, a rich man who lives in the luxury building, but she has feelings for GIMPTY. She lets on that she may be leaving on a trip with HILTON soon. Segue to HILTON cocktail party leading into GET OVER IT, where members of the upper class express how they feel about the less affluent. After song, PHILLIPE tells his dad, GRISWALD, about gang threats. GRISWALD confronts gang from terrace. Cut to MARTIN checking with DIPPY to see if he gave message to his mom. A few hours later, the gang is playing cards and TOMMY lets them know he’s got some mischief planned for PHILLIPE. When kids from a rival gang show up to plan a fight, they notice a mark on him that leads gang into MARK OF DUH SQUEALUH. After song, MARTIN gives gang advice for their upcoming fight, which GIMPTY takes exception to, creating a further rift between the two. After GIMPTY tells TOMMY and the gang to take off, MARTIN and HUNK walk away and spot MARTIN’s MOM approaching. The encounter turns bitter between MARTIN and his MOM in GLAD TUH SEE YUH. Witnessing the encounter, GIMPTY comments to MARTIN, escalating their risky relationship almost to the breaking point. After MARTIN leaves, GIMPTY is left to reflect on his responsibility as a possible whistleblower and “rat” in STANDING ON A CORNER.
TRACK 3 - ACT TWO
MILTY returns, agreeing to steal a quarter from his mother, leading the gang into LOININ’, showing how kids are shaped by their environment. PHILLIPE encounters gang and is lured into the basement of the building where he is mugged. As the city lights come up, MARTIN encounters GIMPTY on the wharf, but before they can engage, KAY shows up. After MARTIN departs, KAY tells GIMPTY she may be leaving tomorrow. HILTON shows up, and seeing them together, becomes enraged and leaves in a huff. Afterwards, KAY talks GIMPTY into going to his place. Cut to gang celebrating beating and robbing PHILLIPE. Cut to PHILLIPE, hysterical, telling his father, GRISWALD, about what the gang did to him. PHILLIPE points TOMMY out, and when GRISWALD grabs him, TOMMY, panicking, pulls out ANGEL’s knife and cuts GRISWALD, then runs away. Hearing the ruckus, OFFICER MULLIGAN approaches and GRISWALD demands he apprehend the kid. After GRISWALD and PHILLIPE leave, DRINA returns from the picket lines, but GIMPTY doesn’t immediately tell her about TOMMY. Left alone, MULLIGAN and the DOORMAN discuss their lot in life stuck between the rich and poor in BLUE COLLAR BLUES. After, we catch up with GIMPTY telling DRINA that TOMMY’s in trouble, leading to a discussion about their neighborhood and poverty, and the effect it has on people, which leads to a more personal conversation about life and love. As GIMPTY tells his side, DRINA reveals (to the audience only) her feelings about going unnoticed and unrequited love in RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES. After the song, their conversation continues about a better life and their dreams and maybe GIMPTY getting a glimpse of who DRINA is. MULLIGAN, the cop returns with the name of the kid, “Tommy,” making inquiries. GIMPTY and DRINA pretend not to know him. After DRINA leaves, GIMPTY talks briefly about the rewards offered for helping to capture criminals like MARTIN. Overhearing, MARTIN approaches and plays along. GIMPTY hastily departs, leaving MARTIN with MULLIGAN. As MULLIGAN departs, HUNK shows up as MARTIN waxes about living a normal life. Minutes later, in a neighborhood bar, HUNK tries to get MARTIN to leave in KILLED ‘EM IN CHICAGO, after which he is sent off to find FRANCEY. Later in the evening, GIMPTY runs into KAY, who earlier fled from GIMPTY’S apartment after a stark reminder of what poverty looks like up close. Torn, she offers a compromise to GIMPTY, saying she’ll live with HILTON but see him, GIMPTY, on the side. The conversation gets bitter, escalating into IN ANOTHER WORLD, which makes it clear that in this world, the two of them won’t make it together. Cut to kids playing cards and the first suspicion that SPIT would squeal on TOMMY for reward money. After, HUNK shows up with FRANCEY, who is now a diseased prostitute. MARTIN, becoming delusional, sees FRANCEY as she was when they were childhood sweethearts in A MILLION YEARS AGO. As song ends, MARTIN is jarred back to reality and gives FRANCEY money and departs. A short while later, back in the bar, HUNK tries to console MARTIN on his double setback. MARTIN’s response is to consider kidnapping a kid for ransom. After, GIMPTY catches up with DRINA on the wharf and they discuss TOMMY and guys like MARTIN and the effect of poverty. DRINA accuses GIMPTY of only caring because of KAY, and sings a reprise of RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES, but GIMPTY responds within the song, having an epiphany about DRINA and that he must act to stop MARTIN from doing any more damage. Back to MARTIN and HUNK planning the kidnapping, when GIMPTY shows up to finger him to the feds. MARTIN and HUNK are shot dead. Left alone, GIMPTY is gripped with guilt and doubts about his actions which he expresses in a reprise to STANDING ON A CORNER.
TRACK 4 - ACT THREE
Back at their apartment, TOMMY reunites with DRINA, where they desperately seek a way out. During their conversation, DRINA tells TOMMY about a man she met in I MET A MAN that could save them both, then tells him it was just a dream. After DRINA promises to get them away and leaves, TOMMY imagines how life could be in SOMEONE LIKE ME. Afterwards, TOMMY plots with ANGEL to set up SPIT to confess ratting on him. When SPIT confesses, TOMMY appears and threatens to give him the Mark of the Squealuh as they sing a reprise of the MARK OF THE SQUEALUH. DRINA and GIMPTY intervene and stop TOMMY, but while they decide what to do, the DOORMAN and OFFICER MULLIGAN show up and TOMMY gives himself up. When GRISWALD arrives, DRINA pleads for mercy while GRISWALD and GIMPTY respond in WHAT’S THE HARM, a song about justice, mercy, and redemption. Though moved, GRISWALD tells the police to take TOMMY away. As TOMMY is led away, GIMPTY pledges to use his reward money to hire a lawyer to help TOMMY. After they’re gone, the DOORMAN yells at the kids as they return to the wharf and life as they know it.
THE END
MUSICAL NUMBERS
(Liner Notes Reference for Concept Album)
TRACK 1 - OPENING & OVERTURE
Song Title / Characters / Start Time on Concept Album Track
Overture / / 00:16
TRACK 2 - ACT ONE
It’s In Duh Cards / (Dippy, Spit, Angel, TB) / 01:23
Paper Houses / (Gimpty) / 10:40
Rich Folks / (Tommy, Dippy, Spit, Angel, TB, Phillipe) / 20:05
Out West / (Baby Face Martin) / 38:15
Get Over It / (Hilton, Griswald, Audrey, Jasper, Phillipe) / 48:20
Mark of Duh Squealuh / (Tommy, Dippy, Spit, Angel, TB) / 57:00
Glad Tuh See Yuh / (Mrs. Martin) / 65:00
Standing On a Corner / (Gimpty ) / 71:50
TRACK 3 - ACT TWO
Loinin’ / (Tommy, Dippy, Spit, Angel, TB, Milty) / 00:50
Blue Collar Blues / (Officer Mulligan, Doorman) / 19:10
Right Before Your Eyes / (Drina Gordon) / 25:00
We Killed ‘Em in Chicago / (Hunk) / 34:00
In Another World / (Gimpty, Kay Burton) / 40:00
A Million Years Ago / (Baby Face Martin, Francey Milazzo) / 49:30
Right Before Your Eyes-Duet / (Drina Gordon, Gimpty) / 58:30
Standing On a Corner-Reprise / (Gimpty) / 66:20
TRACK 4 - ACT THREE
I Met a Man / (Drina Gordon) / 01:55
Someone Like Me / (Tommy Gordon) / 05:00
Mark of Duh Squealuh-Reprise / (Tommy, Dippy, Spit, Angel, TB, Milty) / 10:20
What’s the Harm / (Drina, Griswald, Gimpty) / 15:30
TRACK 5 - ALBUM CREDITS
Concept Album Credits
Directed by Peter C. Palame
Musical Direction - Neil Fishman
Orchestrations & Music Production - Neil Fishman
Percussion - Sam Fishman
Guitar, Ukelele, and Banjo - Ken Karsh
Dead End Kids Vocal Coach - Karen Rolston
Studio Producer - Harvey Edelman
Recording Engineers - Charles de Montebello & Sandy Lamont
Post-Production by Charles de Montebello, Harvey Edelman & Neil Fishman
Mastered by Charles de Montebello
Recorded at CDM Sound Studios & Lamont Audio
Cover Art by Jeannette Jacobs
Produced and Published by Sammy Smile Music LLC
Adapted from the stage play Dead End by Sidney Kingsley in cooperation with the Estate of Sidney Kingsley.
Some material developed at the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop and the Dramatists Guild
Special Thanks to Linda Palame, Jeannette Jacobs, Khristine Hvam, Marc Bailin, and East Valley Children’s Theater