NEW YORK – In 2016, Delia Ephron inadvertently found herself as the main character in her own romantic comedy.

After writing a New York Times article about the loss of her husband, she received a warm email from an old friend, also grappling with a recent loss. This led to a playful long-distance romance that ultimately turned into marriage a year later.

This modern love story echoes themes from the 1998 film “You’ve Got Mail,” which Ephron co-wrote with her sister Nora. Delia later detailed their love journey in her 2022 memoir “Left on Tenth,” which has now been transformed into an upbeat Broadway play featuring Julianna Margulies (“ER”) and Peter Gallagher (“The O.C.”).

“Left on Tenth,” which premiered on October 23 at the James Earl Jones Theatre, aims to provide an uplifting experience while addressing how Delia (Margulies) confronted severe cancer diagnoses, and the various ways her steadfast partner, Peter (Gallagher), helped her navigate through these challenges. It’s easy to see why Ephron, at 80, would want to share their journey: They triumphed over immense adversity with optimism and joy.

However, despite its noble intentions, the play often feels superficial, skimming over deep themes and relying on cliché sentiments of embracing life’s challenges. Lasting just 100 minutes, it rushes through a lifetime’s worth of experiences and emotions that are primarily presented through lengthy monologues directed at the audience.

Moments rarely have time to resonate before the audience is whisked away to the next scene: The highly anticipated first date between Delia and Peter is wrapped up in just two minutes, and the sadness surrounding the loss of a pet is addressed in a mere 30 seconds. Delia’s hospital experiences are also succinct, presenting mostly the medical details from pragmatic doctors (Kate MacCluggage and Peter Francis James, who inhabit various roles).

For a production that claims to embrace the present moment, it’s puzzling that Ephron avoids letting her characters fully experience their emotions, often bypassing any deep reflection on grief, opting for a more simplistic portrayal instead.

Margulies and Gallagher share a charming chemistry, thriving in the more serious moments of the play. Yet, they are constrained by the thinly developed characters, leaving them feeling somewhat lost amidst the play’s conflicting moods. To Delia, Peter appears to be an ideal companion, distinguished by a passion for baseball, the outdoors, philosophy, and feminism. His most significant “flaw” is his tendency to carry a backpack in New York – something Delia overlooks because he is generous with tips at restaurants.

While it’s difficult to remain completely impartial about one’s partner, even characters like Joe and Kathleen from “You’ve Got Mail” shared conflicts and flaws that made them relatable. In contrast, Delia and Peter are often approached by strangers praising their apparent perfection as a couple. This might reflect Ephron’s reality, but onstage, they come across as overly sentimental and one-dimensional.

There are occasional moments of unexpected depth, particularly when Delia grapples with living in the shadow of her sister, even amid severe challenges like illness (she was diagnosed with the same cancer that took her sister Nora in 2012). Towards the play’s conclusion, the once vibrant Delia experiences intense pain following a bone marrow transplant and implores her husband to let her go. However, director Susan…

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In a striking moment, Stroman (“The Producers”) interrupts an intense exchange between characters with a powerful song, featuring a Barbara Cook ballad while Peter desperately begs his wife to hold on.

This is just one of many surprising decisions Stroman employs in the production. For instance, when Delia reminisces about her late husband’s love for tap dancing, she begins to perform a soft-shoe routine accompanied by a silhouetted projection on the grand bookcase. Additionally, when she finally shares a bed with Peter, they are joyfully escorted to the bedroom by characters from “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (a beloved romantic comedy of Ephron).

While it’s difficult to fault a show with such noble intentions, “Left on Tenth” feels both intensely personal and yet distant at the same time. Much like Delia’s frustrating encounter with Verizon’s customer service, everything seems disconnected.