Directed by David Hare, the production runs for a limited engagement of 24 weeks. Maureen Anderman is Redgrave's standby.

In the one-woman play, Redgrave plays Didion, reliving a shocking period in the famed author's life. One night, as Didion's daughter Quintana lay in a coma, her husband of 40 years, the writer John Gregory Dunne, died suddenly of a massive coronary as the two of them sat down to dinner in their New York apartment. Redgrave, as Didion, recounts the events of that night, Didion's memories of her marriage, the grieving period and the treatment of her daughter, who subsequently passed away as well.

Bob Crowley has designed the sets, with costumes by Ann Roth, lighting by Jean Kalman and sound by Paul Arditti. BT McNicholl is the associate director.

Didion is the author of such classic books as "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," though "The Year of Magical Thinking" was her most successful, selling 600,000 copies. She collaborated with Dunne on such screenplays as "Up Close & Personal" and "A Star Is Born" with Barbra Streisand. The Year of Magical Thinking is her first play.

Redgrave won a Tony Award for her performance as Mary Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night. A revered star of stage and screen, she has been nominated for six Oscars and won for "Julia."

Producers are Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Daryl Roth, Debra Black and The Shubert Organization with executive producers Stuart Thompson and John Barlow.

The Booth Theatre is located in Manhattan at 222 West 45th Street. Tickets, priced $76.25-$96.25, are available by calling (212) 239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com. For more information visit www.MagicalThinkingonBroadway.com.