Entertainment

Creaky melodrama ‘Dancing on Nails’ looks at love across age and racial lines

The most distinctive thing about “Dancing on Nails” is how old-fashioned it is. It’s as if playwright Paul Manuel Kane had never heard of modern theater trends. You’re not going to find anything immersive or multimedia in his new drama about crossing age and racial lines in the 1950s. There isn’t much cool edge either.

All that isn’t a problem per se. In fact, it’s almost refreshing. The real problem is that the show is amateurish.

Sam Heisler (Peter Van Wagner) leads an ordered life in 1953 New York. He owns a hardware store and mostly socializes with his cousin, Rose Levitt (Lori Wilner), who works for him as a bookkeeper.

Sam’s routine undergoes a drastic change with the arrival of new employee Natalie Washington (Jazmyn Richardson). The two don’t seem to have much in common: Sam’s about 50 and Jewish; Natalie is 20 and African-American. The older man is surprised to discover her religion — “I didn’t know they had colored Catholics,” he tells her.

Over time, the two develop a rapport, with Sam encouraging Natalie’s operatic ambitions — she dreams of being the first black singer at the Met. Eventually, though, Sam starts wanting more, though Natalie somehow doesn’t notice that rather obvious fact.

Our lovebird’s awkward moves are meant to be touching, but they’re more likely to make you cringe, especially since Van Wagner seems much older than the 50 years he’s supposed to be — even taking into account that middle-aged shopkeepers didn’t hit the gym in the 1950s. When you start figuring out where this is going, you may start muttering “Don’t try to kiss her!” under your breath.

Under Allen Lewis Rickman’s flat direction, the show lurches forward from one clumsy scene to the next until the inevitable resolution.

You can’t accuse this production of cynicism, but good intentions alone aren’t enough.