Bugsy Malone video

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There's something strange and possibly illegal going on in the Lower East Side.

It smells of Kool-Aid, served in Fat Sam's Grand Slam speakeasy, hidden behind the front of a bookstore. It smells of Silly String, shot from splurger guns to take down rivals. It smells of gang activity.

And somehow, Bugsy Malone is caught up in it all.

"I'm beginning to wonder what's going on myself," the character, played by Alex Perez, 12, says during the opening scene of "Bugsy Malone Jr.," the Garden City Recreation Commission summer children's musical opening Friday.

David "D" Dennis, a 14-year-old playing Dandy Dan, said the show is based on the rivalry between his gang and the gang of Fat Sam, played by 12-year-old Nick Bailor. Bugsy has to "walk the line" in the middle of the splurger crossfire, Dennis said.

"It's a gangster musical, but it's lighthearted," he said. "You get both worlds."

A variety of other characters decorate the Prohibition-era show, based on the 1976 film "Bugsy Malone," directed by Alan Parker with music by Paul Williams.

Sydney Rodriguez, 12, plays Tallulah, Fat Sam's girlfriend and the lead singer at the Grand Slam. She also likes to boss around her "girls," whose job is to dance, sing and look good, according to 9-year-old Emma Naab, who plays Dotty, one of Tallulah's girls.

Talent at the speakeasy also comes from Bugsy's love interest Blousey Brown, played by Abby Alsop, and custodian Fizzy, played by Johnny Dennis. Fizzy can tap dance, but instead of giving him an audition, Fat Sam keeps telling him, "Come back tomorrow."

"I'm sort of a Cinderella character," Johnny Dennis, 16, said.

Cast members said at a dress rehearsal Wednesday that they expect the show will be ready for opening night on Friday, even if it's taken a lot of work to get to this point.

Perez said preparing for his role as Bugsy was an especially big challenge because he had a lot of lines to memorize. Once he learned his lines, though, they just seemed to "stay there" in his head, he said.

The acting presented challenges for Bailor, too. He said it was hard to be a gang leader when some of his best friends were supposed to be in the opposing gang.

"I was too good of friends with people to get mad and say violent things," he said.

The play brought other new experiences for some participants. At the dress rehearsal, the cast had to practice putting on makeup -- even the boys.

"I was like, 'Oh, God,'" said Michael Otero, 8, who plays gang member Roxy Robinson. "But it ended up being pretty easy. For the boys, it was like a challenge."

Veteran summer musical participants saw changes, too, with a different format and style brought by new Arts Director Brian Seagraves. He took over for Mark Hays, the longtime director who retired in the fall.

While Hays often directed musical review-style shows, with actors playing themselves and performing large musical numbers, this year's show is a Broadway musical.

Naab said she thinks that since the show is well-known, it might help attract people's attention. It's fun, too, she and other cast members said.

"We're becoming other characters instead of ourselves," said Sadie Pile, 15, who plays gang member Oscar DeVelt.

Rodriguez said she's been looking forward to opening night for a long time, and she's only left wondering one thing -- "I don't know what I'm gonna do when it's over."