Thou Shalt Not: Original Broadway Cast Recording (Words and Music by Harry Connick, Jr.)
Harry Connick Jr.'s Tony-nominated score for his 2001 Broadway debut,Thou Shalt Not, sounds a lot like, well, Harry Connick Jr. Transplanting Émile Zola's dark novel of passion, adultery, and murder,Thérèse Raquin, to 1940s New Orleans allows Connick to operate in his element, with songs that don't need to move the plot along among the most interesting:Debra Monk's saloon song "My Little World," a traditional funeral march ("Won't You Sanctify"), the lively ensemble numbers "Light the Way" and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras," the numerous jazzy instrumentals, and Tony nominee Norbert Leo Butz (The Last 5 Years) sounding like the crooning composer-lyricist himself on "Oh, Ain't It a Shame" and "It's Good to Be Home."Connick plays piano but doesn't sing   on this 77-minute original cast recording, but other cast members include Kate Levering (Peggy Sawyer in the 2001 revival of42nd Street), Craig Bierko (Harold Hill in the 2000 revival ofThe Music Man), and Leo Burmester. Director-choreographer Susan Stroman couldn't duplicate her phenomenally successful run ofContact,The Music Man, andThe Producers--Thou Shalt Notwas generally panned, and the show closed after a three-month run. That makes this CD a historical document, and thus it's great to have the full lyrics, but for those not up on their Zola, a plot synopsis would have been nice.--David Horiuchi