Sometimes there's no specific reason why a show doesn't grab an audience, and Thou Shalt Not is a puzzling case in point. Apart from a couple of easily-corrected directorical miscues (like expecting the audience to applaud after a scene of choreographed coitus), there's nothing wrong, per se, with this new musical by David Thompson, Harry Connick, Jr. and director/choreographer Susan Stroman. In fact, it's usually pretty darn good: bouncy tunes, a viable, sexy-creepy story line; a lissome leading lady (understudy Dylis Croman) and a break-out supporting performer (Norbert Leo Butz).
It's one of those shows where you sit through the whole thing interested, occasionally toe tapping, often pleasantly surprised, yet the whole never really bursts into vivid life. Where's Lehman Engel to explain these things when you need him?
