Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “Left on Tenth.”
RUNDOWN
In the early stages of a new relationship, Delia Ephron — the main character of Broadway’s “Left on Tenth” — praises the way her love interest respects her boundaries. She quips: “People begin as they mean to continue.” That prescriptive aphorism sums up the entire production. Because what begins as a talky, predictable and wonder-free romantic drama remains stuck that way.
Inspired by the real Ephron’s 2022 memoir of the same name, the play chronicles formative years later in the author’s life — a passage marked by grief and frightening diagnoses, but also deep friendship and a renewed lease on love with a psychoanalyst named Peter (Peter Gallagher). Rather than reimagining her autobiography, Ephron and director Susan Stroman have opted to stage a front-of-class reading, driven by actor Julianna Margulies’ endless direct address as Delia from the grand, home library that serves as the play’s primary set (scenic design by Beowulf Boritt). Even when Marguiles stops breaking the fourth wall to enter scenes with other characters, it does little to break the monotonous rhythm.
