That night at Clark’s, the usual party rages on. Joe enters and approaches Nita. He admits that he’s fallen in love with her. But Joe knows better than to get mixed up with a woman who makes her living giving men special attention, so he’s planning to go away for a while until he gets over it. But not before he can give her a small present. Nita opens the package to reveal a huge diamond ring. Joe tells her that if she ever gets in a jam, she should sell the ring. He begins to bid her farewell, but she asks him to come back to see her tomorrow. Just then, Joe spots Brock and his men entering Clark’s and shimmies out on his hands and knees to avoid being spotted. Brock and his army make their way around the joint, pretending to be customers, taking notes on the depravity they’re witnessing. One thing leads to another, and Brock finds himself in a wild game of leapfrog with a bunch of the women, all the while taking more notes. Nita is still in a glow from scoring a millionaire, and she and the bar rave about how “The Money Changes Hands.” And with that Brock and his crew have all the information they’ll need to take down the Tenderloin. End of Act I. A few days later, Purdy wanders through Central Park searching for his niece Laura when he happens upon Joe sitting on a bench dejected by his impossible love for Nita. Brock and Martin come by in the midst of a grave conversation. They stop to discuss the details of Brock’s latest sermon denouncing the Tenderloin in light of the raucous behavior they witnessed at Clark’s. Mrs. Barker, an older church lady, invites Brock to join her group of friends for a game of spoons. But with so much on his mind, he refrains. Just then Jessica runs in breathless with news that Lieutenant Schmidt is looking for Brock. She’s concerned that something bad is about to happen, but Brock takes this to mean that the Governor has taken action on the Tenderloin, and the cops have come to beg for mercy. He takes Mrs. Barker up on her offer after all for some “Good Clean Fun.” Tommy and Laura enter the park together. Laura tells Tommy that her uncle believes Tommy makes his money gambling. Obliged to conceal his true source of income, Tommy pretends that he is in fact a gambler, and that he always wins on account of a “lucky picture” he keeps of Rev. Brock. It seems that Laura’s uncle wishes her not to see the rakish Tommy anymore, but Laura clearly feels otherwise. His levity, whether of truth or fabrication, seems to lift her spirits, and as if in a dream, Tommy takes her in his arms to dance (“My Miss Mary”). Meanwhile, Schmidt has arrived to confront Brock and level with him about his crusade. Schmidt tells Brock that he doesn’t like the bordellos any more than Brock does, but he’s reconciled that the sin in the city is what keeps him in business, and moreover, it is what keeps Brock in business as well. Schmidt argues that all of his efforts will not rid New York of sin, it will just crop up in another neighborhood soon enough. Meanwhile, Brock has alienated his congregation, and Schmidt faces losing his job. Schmidt becomes infuriated when Brock won’t listen; his duty to God keeps him forging on. At Clark’s the girls lament their loss of business. Nita scoffs at Gertie for dreaming of finding love, but inside, she laments losing her Joe (“My Gentle Young Johnny). Just then, Joe enters. He tries to pay, but Nita refuses the money, telling Joe how she’s missed him. Impulsively, Joe asks Nita to marry him, and when she accepts, the girls erupt in a giddy celebration (“The Picture of Happiness” reprise). Joe arrives to meet Schmidt and his men. Schmidt asks Tommy about his “lucky picture” of Rev. Brock. As Schmidt and Deacon examine the picture, it’s clear they have a scheme brewing. Within a matter of days, Jessica, Laura, Joe, and Purdy find themselves reading the scandalous news of Rev. Brock prompted by the doctored photo of him that Schmidt has successfully passed off as real (“The Trial”). That night, Clark’s is ablaze with celebration as Frye gives the girls the perfect imitation of Brock and his failed crusade. Meanwhile at the Parish House, Brock sits alone, solemnly reading the Bible. Tommy comes in to express to Brock how sincerely sorry he is for the way things have turned out. Regardless of Brock’s impractical idealism, Tommy has come to value the Reverend, and as Brock insists that he still believes people are fundamentally good, Tommy rushes out in a swell of guilt for giving Schmidt the photograph.
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