Julia Roberts, Hollywood's reigning box-office queen, makes her Broadway debut in the Joe Mantello-directed show. Her co-stars are Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper. The trio essay two roles a piece. In the first act, Rudd and Roberts play siblings, and Cooper their childhood friend. In the second act, the three play the parents of the first-act characters.

Opening night at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is April 19. The limited 12-week engagement will run through June 18. Marc Platt and David Stone and the Shubert Organization produce.

Roberts plays Nan, the practical sister of the erratic Walker. The two are the children of a famous architect, who was business partners with the father of their longtime friend, Pip, the play's third character. The first act finds the three, all somewhat estranged from one another, trying to dope out a journal left behind by Nan and Walker's dad, particularly the mysterious entry "three days of rain."

In act two, the time frame has shifted back in time a few decades and we meet the fathers of the three characters, as well as the magnetic and unstable woman who played a major role in both their lives.

Three Days of Rain was first produced Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club in 1997, with Patricia Clarkson in the Roberts role. It was a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize. Many critics consider it Greenberg's best play. Despite the celebrity status of Roberts, producers have not overplayed her involvement. Her image is not seen in the ads or posters, which feature a monochromatic photo of two feet standing in a puddle of rain, and her name is printed in the same size type as that of her fellow actors. Producers have also been quiet about the show's pre-opening box-office take, which has doubtless been considerable.

Three Days of Rain will have scenic and costume design by Santo Loquasto, lighting design by Paul Gallo and sound design by David Van Tieghem.