Thou Shalt Not

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Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:32pm

Anyone care to discuss this show?

It had terrible reviews and lasted barely three months three years ago but it had a solid cast with Norbert Leo Butz (Tony nom), Craig Bierko, Kate Levering, and Debra Monk. I found it to be very depressing musical overall but the music was pretty good. Just too jazzy for Broadway.

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:44pm

I saw this show and it was the show that made me love Norbert Leo Butz. I felt that his performance was the only thing that made the show something I could sit through. Debra Monk gave a good performance, but she's Debra Monk so that's to be expected. However, I thought Bierko and Levering were just horrendous. They had no depth or chemistry, but it was Levering more than Bierko who bothered me. I felt like he was playing off of a brick wall. I'm sure she was trying very hard but most of the time she left me bored.

As for the music, I'm not a huge jazz fan, but I did find the Thou Shalt Not segment to be very entertaining, as well as Tug Boat at the end of Act I. Those are the only two scenes that I really remember liking, aside from any part where Norbert's Camille was having a hand in what was going on after he died. I'm still not quite sure why Levering had to be topless in the bed scene. I understand the point of it was to be sensual and dramatic but it really just left me feeling sorry for her for having to be naked like that.

And hang on, when did you win the discus?

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:47pm

Do a search. There are literally 50,000 threads pertaining to this infamous flop.

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:52pm

Ah thanks Melissa. It didn't seem like a show that would be discussed much on the site. I will check now for sure.

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:55pm

Disjointed,bizarre,waste of talent is what comes to mind.
I remember wondering, what was Harry Connick Jr. thinking and why didn't someone stop this train wreck before it came to Broadway.
I also remember feeling sorry for the cast and wondering if they felt trapped. I was mesmerized by Debra Monk who at one point was whirling around in a motorized wheelchair and looked so disengaged from the action that I thought she was mentally making out her grocery list.
What stands out above all else was how an entire audience bonded over this shared debacle. The curtain went down at intermission--and you heard nervous laughter which built to a crescendo and then someone said in a loud voice---"WHAT WAS THAT?" and everyone just started talking to each other predicting when it would close...
I am so happy that all the actors have gotten better material to work with since then and gone on to be properly recognized.

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:57pm

This is probably the only show I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of "legendary flops over the past 25 years) where people literally RAN from the theatre at intermission.

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:59pm

We felt obligated to see it through so that we could make out an accurate accident report

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:04pm

Yup, I stayed. Watching Debra Monk spell out the killer's name on the Scrabble board was worth the price of my ticket (but since I got comps, that's a moot point).

All in all, I was the only person in my row (which was second row center) that stayed for Act Two...

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:06pm

Bloody awful show. A bad show. The show can't be faulted on ambition. It tried very hard to be a serious piece of musical theatre, but it just couldn't come anywhere near realizing those ambitions. Part of the problem was an poor choice of story: that tired old Therese Raquin/Postman Always Rings Twice/Double Indemnity/Body Heat storyline has been just plain done to death, and the show had nothing new to add to it except an uninspired jazzy score.

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/

#10

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:10pm

ME--I forgot that!!!! I must have repressed memories...
Thank you though for reminding me--That was our reward for not leaving at intermission...

#11

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:21pm

My friend and I stayed for the second act as well. We didn't think the show could get any worse but it did. What was the leading lady's name? I'll never forget her humping the headboard while the bed twirled around.

After the show the audience stayed to compare notes outside the theater. One woman said it was like watching a train wreck. You knew what was going to happen but you couldn't take your eyes off it.

Up until recently I thought it was the worst show I'd ever seen. Now that title belongs to IN MY LIFE.

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#12

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:22pm

Kate Levering was the leading lady.

#13

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 8:29pm

Ah yes, Kate Levering. Whatever happened to her?

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#14

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 8:48pm

I think she ended up on a UPN series as the title character Veronica Carter. That's what search revealed but I am not familiar with show.
After Thou Shalt Not she probably decided to change venues for awhile....
She was Tony nominated for 42nd Street and Susan Stroman is her mentor. That's all I got...

#15

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 9:12pm

Wasn't Kate on "Kevin Hill"?

A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

#16

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 10:31pm

Ouch. I didn't think it was THAT horrible. I guess I am just biased because Norbert was in it. If he wasn't, I could see the show being much worse. I wonder if the revival in Chicago will fix some of the book problems.

For example, what was the whole point of killing Camielle? The book seemed to indicate that he was slowly dying from a serious respiratory illness anyway. Therese wanted him dead so she could stay at the club and marry Laurent. She wanted to take it over after Mama died. Yet...Mama seemed much healthier than her son. Who was to say that Camielle would not have died a day, a week, or month after if he had a sudden onset of his condition. If Therese had just waited...So many script holes, holes, holes ><

Also, its so depressing. The only likeable character was Camielle and he has such a shockingly brutal death. I don't think a show should make you leave the theater depressed and sad.

Updated On: 11/5/05 at 10:31 PM

#17

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/5/05 at 10:39pm

I saw the opera version of "Therese Raquin" here in San Diego. I've considered getting the "Thou Shalt Not" CD several times just for being the same story, but so far I've yet to press purchase...

#18

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 3:11am

Harry Connick Jr is a greta songwriter (and singer) - buthe has no idea how to structure a musical play and to use songs to heighten key moments. "The other Hours" is one of the few songs that captures the sensual longing of the characters. Listen to the cast album abd you get no sense of the story or chracters. The disc was not widely released so may be worth buying and hanging onto as an investment.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#19

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 3:27am

What do you mean by too jazzy?

#20

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 7:04am

FrontRow-

I totally agree that "The Other Hours" is a great, haunting tune. In fact, the show actually has several good songs. I enjoyed Debra Monk's smooth and lovely "My Little World" and the showstopping "Tug Boat". The show actually comes off much better on the cast album than it did on-stage, seeing that from listening to the recording, you have no idea of the plot.

Bierko and Levering had absolutely zero chemistry. The seduction songs, especially "Sovereign Lover", fall flat. I've had better chemistry with people that I've never met. Ironically, they were lovers during the production. It ended badly...

#21

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 9:31am

Broadway.com had an opening night video of it. The show looks HORRIBLE!!! Of course, you should never judge a show by it's opening night video, but still...

MARGARET: "Clara, stop that. That's illegal." - The Light in the Piazza

"I'm not in Bambi and I'm not blonde!" - Idina Menzel

#22

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 1:27pm

By too jazzy, I meant that the music was all over the place. There was just no common theme that tied them all together, a problem the plot suffered too. I will admit that the music is catchy though.

#23

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 1:55pm

Awful. And I can usually find enjoyment out of almost any show.

I didn't even see Bierko. If you remember, at the beginning of the run, he got injured in one of the fight scenes (his neck got hit or something). I can't even remember the neame of the understudy that took the role for a few weeks.

But, the one bright spot was that was the first time I'd ever heard of Norbert Leo Butz. And my first chance to see Debra Monk. So even it wasn't a total waste.

#24

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/6/05 at 4:09pm

The show actually comes off much better on the cast album than it did on-stage, seeing that from listening to the recording, you have no idea of the plot.

LOL! I never thought of that being a GOOD thing for cast album. Still I was disappointed in the cd though one other number I did like (and saw them do on the 2001 Macy's parade) was "Take Her to the Mardi Gras!" Did Connick ever record this song?

#25

re: Thou Shalt Not

Posted: 11/9/05 at 5:19am

Hi, I'm usually an observer here and hope you don't mind my jumping in.

Thou Shalt Not needed more work, there's no disputing that. It was unfortunate that it started previews right after 9/11. We were all in such shock then and the show's theme was way too dark for the time. It prompted Strohman to remove some of the best scenes of the show that had to do with a morgue and death. It affected Bierko's performance because two of his songs were cut from the show leaving him very little to do in it. I didn't like Kate Leverings voice, but her dancing was incredible. Debra Monk and Norbert WERE the show. Norbert had the likable character and the best songs. I don't fault the actors in this at all. Even though I do like Harry Connick, his inexperience in theater was easily revealed. The songs didn't further the show as they do in so many others. I listened to TSN just the other day and do like some of the songs. I wish they had postponed the opening a few months to fix the show because the potential was there. One last observation...what was with all the old people in the audience? Did anyone else notice that? It was as if they were giving the tickets out at every Senior Development within 60 miles. I thought some of the scenes were hot, but you could hear the old people gasping in shock. It was a pretty funny in a way, but I could tell anything a little off color would have shocked them.

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