"Tenderloin" described the battle between Charles H. Parkhurst and Tammany Hall. "The New York Times" reviewer H. I. Brock called the book an "outstanding period piece" and "a finale to a long and varied writing career". "Tenderloin" was adapted into a 1960 musical with book by George Abbott and Jerome Weidman and songs by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the team that had created "Fiorello!" "Tenderloin" ran for 216 performances. New critic Howard Taubman praised the songs, but complained about a "dragging book" and said, "The wages of virtue, alas, are largely dullness."