Playwright Delia Ephron’s openness to finding love in her 70s after a long 35 year marriage ended is the central focus of her autobiographical one act drama LEFT ON TENTH, running now through Dec. 21 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
The storyline echoes one of Ephron’s famous scripts to the 1998 film ‘You’ve Got Mail’ (which she co-wrote with her sister Nora Ephron) about two people finding love on the internet without meeting for a long period of time. As was the case in ‘You’ve Got Mail’, the romantic couple do meet each other on the internet in LEFT ON TENTH.
However, the similarities between both Ephron projects end there. While ‘You’ve Got Mail’ involves a lot of humor about deception between the romantic couple, LEFT ON TENTH moves away from the humorous beginning about Ephron bickering about a phone bill and heads into a more dramatic tone as Ephron develops a romantic relationship with Peter.
It is Delia Ephron’s heart and health that is the central focus of LEFT ON TENTH. Following the humorous opening scene, Delia meets Peter on the internet when he emailed her following her article in a publication about her woes with the phone company.
The romance develops from Peter reminding Delia that he already met her decades ago when her sister Nora introduced them, a moment Delia never remembered. However, sparks do fly as Delia and Peter discuss their past, including Delia talking with Peter about losing her husband to cancer. The couple eventually do share a lot of good times as their romantic chemistry deepens.
The tone of the play becomes more dramatic despite Delia and Peter falling in love as seniors. Delia’s doctor informs her about being diagnosed with a genetic form of cancer that took the life of her sister Nora. The doctor also adds that the chances of Delia surviving the cancer are very slim.
Upon learning the grim news, Delia faces a lot of insecurities, especially because she has suffered from losing both her husband and her sister to cancer.. To now learn that she may die soon makes her question whether the road to love is just a passing phase of her life that may end soon.
It is not a spoil alert to learn that Delia eventually recovers (since Delia wrote LEFT ON TENTH to be autobiographical) and that Delia and Peter show that love indeed can be stronger than any force in nature. The enjoyment of the play has less to do with knowing how the story ends, but rather how the outcome was created.
Along with Delia Ephron being so open about her life as a senior, the play sparkles because of the interaction of the four member cast, especially lead characters Delia (portrayed by actress Dalia Aleman) and Peter (Stephen Schnetzer).
Both Aleman and Schnetzer shined as their romance blossomed, showing so much chemistry on the stage that the audience was emotionally rooting for them to prevail, even when the story turned dark.. Delia started to doubt whether Peter really loved her as her illness tested the couple’s love. Schnetzer was convincing as Peter, showing Delia and the audience that love as a senior is more challenging and endearing than when they were young.
Between both the courtship of Delia and Peter and some of the dramatic tear-jerking scenes late in the play is a lot of humor thanks to the support of actors Margot Moreland and Ben Sandomir. Both actors play a lot of quirky characters with funny accents to primarily ease the tension.
Moreland also stood out showing a wide range of emotions portraying not only funny, loud characters but also for her portrayal of the kind Doctor Gail Roboz, who showed so much compassion for Delia in her time of need.
Also adding to the play is the casting of two dogs Charlie and Honey who represented the hope and optimism of Delia and Peter.
Along with the cast, credits go to director Bari Newport, both for her skillful direction of the cast and dogs, and as Artistic Director of Gablestage, for selecting LEFT ON TENTH for its audience. Given that many that attend GableStage are seniors, the play truly spoke to the audience on the importance of love in the senior years.
Credits also go to the off the stage personnel at GableStage, especially lighting designer David Lander, scenic designer Frank J. Olivia and sound designer Dan Mayer for creating the sets and sounds of the romantic story.
On a personal note, I found love when I turned 70, so I had a deep emotional connection to the play.
Playwright Delia Ephron’s one act autobiographical drama “Left On Tenth” about finding love and hope as a senior, is running now through December 21 at GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave in Coral Gables Tickets range from $60-95. For tickets and more information, call 305-445-1119 or go to gablestage.org
