Left on Tenth

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Delia Ephron’s first Broadway play, Left on Tenth, from her memoir of the same name, is half a rom-comedy about late middle-aged people meeting about the death of their spouses of many years and half a story of surviving leukemia, both of which happened to the author around the time her husband Jerry died after 30 years of blissful marriage. The title is a pun describing Delia’ route home from uptown having to go left on Tenth because it is a one-way street, as well as her being left alone when her beloved husband dies leaving her unprepared for the life to follow.

Although the play is graceful and appealing, it is mainly presented in narrative form with Delia played by Julianna Margulies in New York and Peter Gallagher playing Dr. Peter Rutter, her surprise new boyfriend from California, reading their emails to each other from desks at opposite sides of the stage. Left on Tenth, with its episodic nature, and many short scenes, is really a screenplay with the lead actors doing the equivalent of the voice-overs. Susan Stroman, best known for her choreography and direction of musicals, has piloted the play with polish and urbanity, but has not solved all the play’s problems.

While the book goes much deeper into Delia’s emotions, the play tends to gloss over the bad things that happen to her, as well as making the characters 20 years younger than they were in real life. Both the book and the play begin when Delia attempts to have Verizon turn off her late husband’s phone only to lose her Internet service. The resulting complications lead to a New York Times Op-Ed piece that got Delia many emails including one from a California psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Rutter who told her how much he liked her article and that they had been set up on dates by her sister Nora (the future screenwriter) when they were in college.

After feeling that she is not ready to start dating again, she meets Peter and they instantly fall in love. After taking trips all over the United States together, Delia is diagnosed with the same rare form of leukemia that killed her sister Nora, but she is told that she is not her sister and she has a better chance of survival. With Peter by her side having relocated to New York, Delia begins experimental treatments that increase her survival chances. We, of course, guess that Delia will survive as she has written both the memoir and the play, so the happy ending is never in question.

As Delia who has many doubts throughout, Margulies (returning to Broadway for the first time in 18 years) is very much like one of the many heroines in Ephron’s screenplays played by Meg Ryan, Nicole Kidman, Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell, etc. She is likeable and engaging though the play unlike the memoir rushes through some events and glosses over others. Gallagher last on Broadway in 2015 is utterly charming as the almost too good to believe Peter who always tells Delia the right thing and is amenable to anything.

The cleverest roles go to the two supporting cast members Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage who play at least six characters each with different outfits by Jeff Mahshie and wigs and hair design by Michael Buonincontro. Each show their versatility in these varied roles including accents, MacCluggage playing Delia’s British friend Julia and James playing Belgian Dr. Koen van Bestien. Even Delia’s  beloved dog Honey puts in an appearance played by Nessa Rose.

Set designer Beowulf Boritt and projection designer Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew have a field day with the sets for the 23-scened play, all of it brightly lit by Ken Billington and Itohan Edoloyi. Boritt’s set for Delia’s apartment is an enviable book lined room in pearl grey which opens up to reveal Central Park, and other New York locations. After Delia visits Peter in California, it again reveals several famous tourist spots in the West. Finally, the two halves of the set rotate to become Delia’s hospital room in an upscale modern facility. Above the set are beautiful and colorful slide projections from the tree lined landscape of Greenwich Village’s Tenth Street to Washington Square’s Arch to Britain’s Wye Valley to the Oregon Desert.

Delia Ephron’s Left on Tenth is a light-hearted attempt to tell a true story of death, love and illness. It is a diverting evening in the theater although don’t expect any insights or revelations. Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher are good company as the heroine and hero, while supporting actors Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage often steal the show in their many and varied appearances as everyone else. Director Susan Stroman keeps the mood light even when the subjects are grim. An added attraction is that the design team will make you want to visit various sites which are made to look very glamorous and inviting.

Left on Tenth (through February 2, 2025)

James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 W. 48^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.leftontenthbroadway.com

Running time: one hour and 50 minutes without an intermission