NEW YORK—Romantic comedy makes a pleasant return to Broadway with Delia Ephron’s “Left on Tenth” at the James Earl Jones Theatre. Based on Ephron’s 2022 memoir of the same name, the story shows how love can be found when least expected.
Having recently lost her husband of over 30 years to cancer, Delia (Julianna Margulies), an accomplished writer who lives with her dog Honey on Tenth Street in New York City, now finds herself doing battle with the communication behemoth Verizon. The company shut down the wrong datastream when Delia asked them to disconnect her husband’s phone line. After a few days getting nowhere and being continually switched from department to department, put on hold, and ultimately disconnected again, Delia vents her frustrations the best way she knows how—she writes about it.
Her article is a big hit, which finally prompts action from Verizon. It also attracts the attention of Peter (Peter Gallagher), a widowed California-based psychiatrist, who claims to have taken Delia out on a date decades earlier. Delia has absolutely no recollection of this event.
Intrigued by Peter’s electronic greeting, she desperately tries to recall having met him. The date was supposedly set up by her late sister. Delia responds to his query and is surprised to find an intelligent and witty person on the other end of the text. Their messages soon change from electronic to verbal as they talk about a wide variety of subjects. Soon it’s evident just how in-sync with each other they are.
A Half-Hearted Romcom
While the play certainly has a romcom feel, yet at times it feels too much like one and at others, not enough. With few exceptions, the story plays on a single emotional level, with even the most powerful moments weaker than they should be. Ephron clearly tried for a light and happy story. Though the finished project is indeed cute, touching, and inspiring, the characters are kept at arm’s length from the audience. It prevents really connecting with the characters. We may like these people, we may root for them, but we probably won’t think much about them after we leave the theater.It would help if Ephron had expanded the story into two acts. There’s a natural break in the narrative, and choosing to expand the piece would allow the audience more time to get to know the characters. Susan Stroman’s direction is fine as far as it goes, but it ultimately feels rather lackluster.
Margulies is very good as the amiable Delia: a strong, independent woman who has long been in charge of her own life. She’s completely stunned to find herself falling for Peter, realizing that her time for romance with another soulmate is not at all over. Her initial caution, resulting giddiness, and sudden fear that things might be moving too fast cannot help but strike a chord with those who’ve found themselves in such a situation.
Gallagher is nicely stalwart as the Peter, a quiet, genial, and all-around nice guy. He gets a few strong moments, particularly in the latter part of the story when Delia is relegated to a hospital bed, but there’s no denying that his character is a secondary one in this tale.
Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage are fine in multiple roles, often as people in Delia’s life. None of these characters really stand out. The two usually act as sounding boards for Delia, while passing on words of wisdom.
Light, airy, and sure to bring a smile to your face, “Left on Tenth” may not be perfect, but its core message about never being too old to fall in love, shines brightly through.
