‘Left on Tenth’ review: Julianna Margulies’ Broadway show is a sappy slog
nypost.comThere is no doubt as to what the new play “Left on Tenth,” which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre Wednesday night, wants to be: A romantic, funny and harrowing tale of a woman’s rebirth.One hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission.
At the James Earl Jones Theatre, 130 West 48th Street.Yet, after seeing Delia Ephron’s Broadway show starring Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher, different descriptors jump to mind: Sappy, sluggish and awkward.That Ephron, who co-wrote rom-coms such as “You’ve Got Mail” and “Hanging Up” with her late sister Nora, based this cliche-ridden slog on the dramatic highs and lows of her own life adds another layer of discomfort.I felt bad — awful, really — that I disliked the dramedy about this real person’s heartbreak, illness and eventual triumph as much as I did.
But the mangled tone, laughless jokes and emotional fakery are impossible to look beyond.The charisma of the two leads can’t save cardboard dialogue.
Noble intentions make the pacing no less clunky. Even the cuteness of its two real dogs fails to pump life into a show that’s ostensibly about living.
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