Romcom lovers in search of romantic comedy bliss need look no further than Beverly Hill’s Theatre 40, where Susan Sandler’s Crossing Delancey is nearing the end of its captivating sold-out run.

If the play’s title sounds familiar, it’s probably because you were of moviegoing age back in 1988 when Lower East Side pickle man Peter Riegert won comely book shop employee Amy Irving’s heart in Sandler’s screen adaptation of her 1985 play.

It’s probably less likely that you’ve seen Crossing Delancey on stage, which is just one reason to celebrate its 41st-anniversary revival at Theatre 40.

Another is the chance to see how a movie with over two-dozen speaking parts started out life quite nicely as a 5-hander, thank you very much.

Not only that, but romcom female leads don’t get any more enchanting than Isabelle “Izzy” Grossman (Holly Sidell), who’s set her sights on novelist Tyler Moss (Matt Landig), suave, sophisticated, and entirely too self-absorbed for Izzy’s own good if only she could see him through less rose-colored glasses.

And though it’s obvious to us from the moment local matchmaker Hannah Mandelbaum (Amy Tolksy) introduces Izzy to neighborhood pickle vendor Sam Posner (Ari Hagler) at Izzy’s 80-year-old grandmother Bubbie’s (Sharron Shayne) request that Sam is the man for Izzy, it’s equally clear that it’s going to take Izzy a lot longer to reach that conclusion.

Even minus the additional friends, neighbors, and bonus love interest Sandler added to Crossing Delancey The Movie in the interest of “opening it up,” Crossing Delancey The Play has us in the palm of Izzy’s hand from the moment she breaks the fourth wall to wax poetic about her Bubbie even as she plucks pesky hairs from her garrulous grandmother’s chin.

And she keeps us ensconced firmly there even as we cringe at how awkwardly she fawns over the egocentric Tyler and want to pull our hair out over how blind she is to Sam’s warmth and charm, or at least until the day that he gifts her with …

Director Jonathan Fahn proves himself every bit as adept at directing a character-propelled romantic comedy here as he was at the sitcom-style humor of Kentwood Players’ recent Guilty Pleasures, and the result is a quintet of performances that never cross the line into stereotypes.

Sidell gives romcom queens Meg and Julia and Sandra and Kate and Reece some pretty tough competition in the beguilingly appealing department even as we wince at her inability to see Tyler as the manipulator he is.

Shayne is as warm and witty and insightful as Izzy’s quintessentially Jewish grandmother as she was as entirely too doing as the murderous Charles’s clueless mother in Strangers On A Train.

Theatre 40 newcomer Hagler is such a mensch as Sam that we’re rooting for him from the get-go, a terrifically smarmy Landig gives Tyler enough superficial charm to fool Izzy (but not us), and L.A. theater treasure Tolsky skillfully avoids taking matchmaker Hannah into caricature territory.

Jeff G. Rack’s scenic design is one of his best, allowing Izzy and us to move seamlessly from Bubbie’s homey kitchen to her granddaughter’s cozy bookstore to the flower-backed park bench where matches are made.

Derrick McDaniel lights it, Michael Mullen’s pitch-perfect costumes, Judi Lewin’s hair and makeup designs, and Michele Goffeau’s properties quite gorgeously indeed, with Nick Foran once again proving himself one of the best sound designers in town, in particular as regards underscoring scenes and scene changes.

Crossing Delancey is produced by David Hunt Stafford. Deirdre O’Connor is assistant director. Melissa Fahn is choreographer. Zachary Seaton Lewis is stage manager. Philip Sokolof is publicist.

With all that’s going on in the world today, it’s a particular pleasure to slip into the world Susan Sandler first brought to life four decades ago in Crossing Delancey. If ever there was a play and production guaranteed to put a smile on audience faces, it’s Theatre 40’s irresistible Crossing Delancey.

Theatre 40, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills. Through June 21. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30. Sundays at 2:00.
www.Theatre40.org

–Steven Stanley
June 14, 2026
Photos: Alyssa K. Liu

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Susan Sandler, Theatre 40