And then the show begins.

Many of my friends and colleagues have seen the play during its previews — some say it was horrible, some say the first act sucked but the second was good. I wanted to make the judgment for myself.

The set for Joe Mantello's Three Days of Rain is stunning. The grandiosity and realness of the house that Walker (Paul Rudd) lays asleep in is striking. He awakes to the sounds of the city, and soon his sister Nan (Julia Roberts) enters. Ms. Roberts' first few lines are drowned out by the sea of applause from the eager crowd. Julia is ostensibly nervous when she first enters the stage — she's very fidgety, looking somewhat meek, and even nearly flubs one of her first lines. But after about 20 minutes, she calms down and gets on the right track.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Richard Greenberg is the story of two siblings who must deal with the death of their father. They reunite before the reading of their father's will. The will sat unread for a year while the younger child, Walker (Paul Rudd), left the country without telling anyone. This disappearing act would appear to be par for the course for the scattered Walker, whose life stands in stark contrast to that of his capable and stern sister, Nan (Ms. Roberts), and who takes after their institutionalized mother.

We're provided with a funny moment at the beginning of the play when Walker reads a disturbing passage from his father's journal, turns emotional, and throws it across the stage. It went too far, and fell into the house. A few lines later it was obvious from what Walker was saying that he needed the journal, so an older man in the first row picked the journal up off the floor and handed it to Rudd as boisterous laughter and applause followed. Julia showcased that trademark grin.

The story changes a bit when Pip (Bradley Cooper) enters the picture — a childhood friend who, unbeknownst to Walker (who obviously has some unresolved issues about his father's love and approval), was given the house that Ned, an architect, designed and owned. Walker also learns that Pip had a very good relationship with Ned, and indeed one with Nan as well (they slept together).

Rudd and Roberts, though they bog the play down in the very beginning, are saved when the brilliant and charismatic Cooper enters and completely steals the first act. His energy and humor revives the downtrodden beginning of the play and the audience fell absolutely in love with him.

Toward the end of the act, Roberts gains momentum and we catch wind of her signature sarcasm and biting humor. There are times when she looks physically uncomfortable on stage — not knowing what to do with her hands or how to stand — but the good news for Julia is that it works for her awkward character Nan. Often in the play, there's a feeling of disjointedness or lack of undulation, but that is definitely not a testament to Greenberg's stellar play. It's a testament to the talent (or lack thereof) of the play's mediocre director Joe Mantello. What do you expect when you hand the director of Wicked and The Odd Couple a Pulitzer Prize winning play?