DANCING ON NAILS Begins Performances at Theatre 80 Tonight

DANCING ON NAILS, a new play by Paul Manuel Kane, will begin performances tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m., with the official Opening on Wednesday evening, July 24th at Theatre 80, located at 80 St. Marks Place (just west of First Ave.)

Under the direction of Allen Lewis Rickman, the cast of Dancing on Nails features Peter Van Wagner (Isaac Ginsburg on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire"), Lori Wilner (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, THE DIARY OF Anne Frank), Lauren Klein (LOST IN YONKERS, OTHER DESERT CITIES), Michael Lewis ("666 Park Avenue"), and Jazmyn Richardson ("Party at Micah's").

He's Jewish and she's Black. He's 50 and she's 20. And it's 1953. The new comedy Dancing on Nails explores the challenging relationship between a lonely middle-aged shopkeeper and his young African-American employee in 1950s Greenwich Village.

Playwright Paul Manuel Kane has authored the plays FLORABEL (Playbox Theatre), NEW YORK STORIES (Roy Arias Theater) andRED WING CARA CARA (Altered Stages). His numerous awards include the International Playwriting Award (1st prize) - Vancouver, the Samuel French Merit Award and the Writer's Digest Award. Director Allen Lewis Rickman directed Off-Broadway's THE LADY NEXT DOOR and A NOVEL ROMANCE; he co-wrote and directed THE BIG BUPKIS: A COMPLETE GENTILE'S GUIDE TO YIDDISH VAUDEVILLE; and he co-adapted, directed, wrote supertitles for, and acted in the Drama Desk-nominated Yiddish version of Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Other directing credits include works at EST, Pulse and Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium. His acclaimed revue THE ESSENCE, which he wrote, directed and performed in, has toured widely and was published in an anthology edited by the late Harvey Pekar.

Scenic design for Dancing on Nails is by Vicki R. Davis, with costume design by Gail Cooper-Hecht and lighting design by Michael Gottlieb.