Broadway Review: 'Left on Tenth' Starring Julianna Margulies - Charming or Superficial? Critics Weigh In!

Left on Tenth: A Charming Play, But Where's the Conflict?

A Familiar Rom-Com Setup, But Missing That Spark

Delia Ephron's Left On Tenth, starring Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher, adapts her memoir for the stage. It's a charming story, a classic rom-com setup; featuring that online flirtation between Margulies' version of the author and Gallagher's therapist, Peter. The overall concept is cozy, comfy, and very, very familiar— it feels almost exactly like those earlier Ephronian rom-coms! You know the ones we are referring to. It really takes that You've Got Mail vibe–except...there's no conflict, and little-to-no tension! Gallagher's Peter is exactly who he appears; Margulies' Delia similarly remains unchallenged. What happens throughout the play doesn't result in interesting character interactions and conflicts which only adds disappointment because the play largely does nothing innovative with that typical rom-com narrative, which only makes the predictable ending seem all the more apparent and almost insulting in how the actual story moves.

Tragedy Transformed: A Lighter Touch on Heartbreak

Left on Tenth Goes Right Down the Middle Image

The play does not hide Ephron’s actual life which the story arc follows; Yet there is a bizarre dissonance that makes viewers really question its execution. Ephron’s sister dies, Nora; followed by her husband, the screenwriter Jerry Kass; this tragedy gets topped by Ephron’s cancer diagnosis and treatments! Then there’s terrible news about her dog! All are intensely heavy. She however chose to focus instead, on that budding romance that really saved her; she used her efforts to create an amazing storyline, resulting in this unexpected story.

Her essay regarding Verizon inspired a sweet message and relationship and that email becomes her escape, a romance beginning long distance between the East Coast and the Bay Area, this is portrayed effectively using a visually stunning, large scale setting in this production! The amazing setting perfectly balances and presents the East Coast and the West Coast landscapes in a striking display, utilizing various visual elements; including the use of amazing, scenic landscapes such as the California redwoods perfectly contrasting New York city skylines in the background, resulting in stunning aesthetics! Yet, there's a feeling the actual content fails to capitalize.

Too Nice, Too Easy: A Lack of Dramatic Friction

Peter Gallagher as Peter; that's fantastic. The man delivers that kind, smart, irresistible charm like only Sandy Cohen could do (yes, we are talking about The O.C. here). But the play never generates any significant tension and only presents this polite amity with barely any actual conflict—a flaw, particularly considering all the potential opportunities! Even those first-date nerves, the fear of moving on from previous loss — these potential conflicts exist! Yet those challenges, and potentially tense or uncomfortable situations go completely ignored, resulting in a plot only concerned with minor inconveniences and resulting situations which barely amount to conflict: This lack of emotional volatility is entirely apparent throughout. There was hardly ever even disagreement or challenging statements made from any involved character: the most stressful thing here only amounted to drinking beer!

Underwhelming Performances: A Polished but Emotionally Distant Production

The coziness is problematic. It stifles the lead performances! Margulies, awesome in intense roles (The Good Wife’s Alicia Florrick, ER’s Nurse Hathaway), seems uncomfortable being so bubbly. You can feel the immense efforts exerted, trying to carbonate this portrayal, the required effort in producing this portrayal makes the whole play seem unnaturally stilted! This contrasts severely to how amazing Margulies performs under stressful, emotionally demanding scenarios and there's a great difference here which clearly highlights those aspects involved.

Gallagher’s role requires him to embody the concept of "too good to be true," which ends in some major limitations and only adds the same issue to his own portrayal! When the medical aspects and Ephron’s illnesses, Margulies finds her rhythm with intense acting; however Gallagher, is reduced to the role of playing a man will-powering his beloved to good health– which adds no human conflict, demonstrating the limitations on plot development. It further demonstrates another limitation, it distances those feelings of humanity by lacking natural expressions, only adding to the previously existing disconnection with audiences everywhere!

Supporting Characters: A Lack of Depth and Conflict

The supporting cast–Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage—deliver enjoyable supporting performances; the range however is severely limited; this again is the central weakness behind the story! Their numerous roles (many costume changes and wigs for MacCluggage), remain predominantly comedic; however, their character portrayal has inherent problems. James' portrayal is simply that kind gay neighbor with that all too familiar, sad story arc surrounding years living with AIDS. MacCluggage’s portrayal is one of a bubbly, very cheerful British friend providing simple insights that feel more generic; failing to offer that emotional nuance!

Everyone here's almost too nice! It's an excessively rose-tinted vision of reality, resulting in almost bland character development and plot movements; creating a sense of lacking significant and essential conflicts and interesting points throughout that entire narrative and storyline. There was absolutely no dramatic impact from any major event which makes that lack of nuance more critically important!

Conclusion: Charm Doesn't Replace Conflict

Left on Tenth's cozy appeal is attractive and may appeal greatly to people desiring an extremely calming and emotional experience, however that same charm ultimately hinders that crucial tension which drives many plots. The polished production unfortunately does nothing impressive except delivering very polished performances from mostly likeable actors. Yet that very likeability fails to completely solve or save a narrative severely lacking in true human conflict.