Broadwayworld.com

I saw WARD 9 last night. Despite a few technical glitches, this is a fascinating show. Set to a recorded score of all Beethoven (I eagerly look forward to a live orchestra on Broadway!) it tells the story of seven artists/geniuses/madmen in a psychiatric ward. Vivienne Leigh, Nijinsky, Bobby Fisher, Sylvia Plath, Howard Hughes, Beethoven and Van Gogh. And of course, a Big Nurse who rules the ward with an iron fist and a hypodermic needle. This show is beautifully choreographed and danced, but is highly theatrical. Don't let the lack of words prevent you from seeing it. It feels very much in a developmental stage but I am sure its creators Matt Williams, Gregory Victor and Mark Robinson, have a vision for a fully realised final production.

And the theatre itself, the brand-new Manhattan Movement and Arts Center is a real find (that is, if you can find it).