Presented by Henry Street Settlement Theater in association with The Nighthouse Company at Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand St., NYC, Oct. 18-Nov. 4.
A relic of the 1930s with little irony and a raft of seemingly unreal, cartoony young toughs, Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End" fascinates as the kind of play that could only be written many decades ago.
The play actually ended up spawning the "Dead End Kids" comedies, but this is no laughing matter, especially as earnestly presented with care by this large group of eager young performers. It basically concerns a group of young men who end up getting terminally corrupted by a mobster named Baby Face Martin, who is in the neighborhood to see his foul and unforgiving mother.
There are many characters and much melodrama, and some painfully turgid romantic scenes, but David Gaard's cast of 38 weaves through the dialogue so seamlessly you begin to really believe the setting. Making it all work especially well is that you hang on every word said by the remarkable David Sochet as Baby Face Martin. Though far too young for the role, the explosive actor mixes brimming anger and vulnerability so deftly he gives the character a great deal of nuance and even charm.
Most of the gang scenes work well, with John M. Gomez showing the requisite grittiness and presence as Tommy and Bryen Luethy appearing especially comfortable and mournful as Angel. The gang scenes are especially effective when their target is Philip, a snotty rich kid played convincingly by Michael Dunn. Mr. Dunn is so utterly goofy and irritating that you might start hoping that he is acting at a certain point.
Gaard's actors also use the space quite well, roaming freely from side to side in the broad, gym-like stage and even going as far as to sit in seats near the audience. Production designer Sylvia Bagaglio adds still more to the production, having cleverly created a faux urban "swimming hole" near the side of the stage for the actors to play in while the proceedings play out.