Review: You've Got E-mail: Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher Fall in Love in Left on Tenth

Sometimes a critic must ask herself: is this play great, or am I just attracted to Peter Gallagher? Left on Tenth at the James Earl Jones Theatre made that a very difficult question to answer. But while this play by Delia Ephron, based on her memoir, reawakened my childhood crush (Those blue eyes! That smooth voice! Those out-of-control eyebrows!), I do know the truth. While appealing to die-hard romcom fans, Left on Tenth doesn’t fulfill the potential of its alluring premise.

The set-up is enticing: an older writer who is famous for romantic movies finds herself in her own surprising, later-in-life love story. Delia (Julianna Margulies) is adrift after her husband of many years dies. She loses her internet when she cancels his phone line and spends hours on hold with Verizon to fix it – a relatable tribulation that she uses as fodder for a piece in the New York Times.

Enter Peter (Gallagher), a former flame who moved to the West Coast, who contacts Delia after he reads the article, having been in a similar situation. While Delia doesn’t remember the few dates they went on as teenagers, they immediately have a connection. They go from writing e-mails to phone calls to visits in a whirlwind romance.

Conflicts enter the couple’s path but never make them pause. Delia still misses her husband and worries they are moving too fast. Peter says they can take things slow. Peter carries a backpack. Delia finds this uncool. Then she gets over it. Even potential red flags are swiftly dispatched. When it’s revealed Peter divorced and remarried the same woman, Delia finds it delightful. It is fascinating, particularly for a writer interested in human emotions and behavior. But Delia thinking everything about Peter is wonderful (apart from the backpack) doesn’t lead to any sustained conflict.

The play gets more textured as it goes on. Delia has also lost her sister, the famous screenwriter/director Nora Ephron, so she is tested every six months to see if she will develop the same cancer Nora had. (Given that all of this is Google-able, it’s safe to say that this is Chekhov’s cancer monitoring.) Delia’s eventual diagnosis is the most interesting part of the play, particularly the depiction of how she is not a “noble” patient. She vacillates between hopelessness, fear, and rage, and in the darkest moments, lashes out at Peter like a toddler throwing a tantrum. It’s rare to see this kind of realistic characterization of someone with cancer, which made me want to see more of it.

This could have been a real conflict for the couple to overcome if Peter were anything but a saint. Fortunately for the real Delia but unfortunately for this play, Peter never wavers from her side, always believing in their shared destiny. The best romcoms feature characters that aren’t perfect, and Peter is just too good to create the jeopardy needed to make us question if the couple will make it. As much as I enjoyed watching Gallagher fall in love with Margulies, the fun stemmed from his charisma and utter cuteness, not dramatic tension.

There are also lengthy monologues about the character’s backstories, which makes the production drag. Margulies’s performance is mixed, making the monologues feel even longer. She doesn’t summon enough effervescent spirit to keep her in step with Gallagher, so the attraction between them feels uneven too. Still, despite the dullness, there are more pleasures than just Gallagher’s charms to engage the audience. Featured actors Peter Francis James and Kate MacCluggage are impressive as a parade of doctors, pals, and others. James gives each of his characters extreme specificity, including accents and mannerisms. MacCluggage makes Delia’s parade of otherwise-indistinguishable female writer friends (many of whom wear scarves) into real, differentiated characters.

Susan Stroman’s measured direction keeps the show moving as fast as the writing allows. The scenic design by Beowulf Boritt is exceptional, encompassing everything from a library in a Greenwich Village apartment to a sterile hospital room in perfect detail. One impressive set transformation, when Delia visits a certain New York landmark, is both evocative and beautiful, enhanced with projections by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew.

The love the playwright has for her husband comes across so strongly on the page and in this production that it’s hard not to get swept up in it. It puts a smile on your face but doesn’t quite reach into your heart. Left on Tenth has some enchanting moments but can’t measure up to the earlier romcoms it references.