Katie Holmes is a Broadway baby again!
As the northern lights shined over New York City on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 10, the actress, 45, stood in the spotlight of the stage as she took her bow on opening night of the celebrated revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
The Pulitzer-prize winning play — returning for the first time in nearly 25 years, in a new production directed by Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon — made its official debut at the Barrymore Theatre in New York City, opening to rave reviews with many praising Holmes’ performance in the timeless classic.
It’s the first time Holmes has been back on the boards in over a decade, after last starring in 2012’s Dead Accounts. She made her debut in the 2008 revival of All My Sons.
This time around, Holmes is part of a whopping 28-actor company that includes Jim Parsons, Zoey Deutch, Ephraim Sykes, Richard Thomas, Billy Eugene Jones, Michelle Wilson, Julie Halston and Donald Webber Jr. All smiled brightly during curtain call, as they were greeted with rapturous applause and standing ovations by an audience of eager theatergoers.
Earlier in the evening, the cast walked the red carpet where they posed for photographers.
Holmes looked as chic as ever in an all-black look. She wore a silky black blouse with a mock turtleneck cut, pairing the garment with a pleated long skirt. Wearing her hair back, she accessorized her look with dangling earrings, black tights and gold-toed dark heels.
Posing alongside Holmes during one moment was Deutch, 29, who wore a sparkling white gown with a feathered trim around the skirt’s hemline. She complimented the dress with silver chandelier earrings and white heels.
Deutch is making her Broadway debut in Our Town. She tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that she developed a special bond with Holmes, with the Dawson’s Creek alumna playing Mrs. Webb, mother to Deutch’s Emily Webb.
“She is pure sunshine,” says Deutch, adding that she’s grateful for the “warmth and love” she receives from Holmes on and off the stage. “It’s impossible not to feel. She’s a really, very special person.”
“I feel very lucky that I get to be with her in this capacity,” she says.
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Our Town first opened on Broadway in 1938, and has been revived on Broadway four times since, most recently in a 2002 production led by the late Paul Newman.
The play is about life in the village of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from 1901 to 1913. Told in memory by a narrator (Parsons, in this production), the story focuses on the lives of the Webb and Gibbs family, who’s two children — Emily Webb (Deutch) and George Gibbs (Sykes) — see their childhood friendship blossoms into romance.
Other actors who star in the play include Ephie Aardema Sarnak, Heather Ayers, Willa Bost, Bobby Daye, Safiya Kaijya Harris, Doron JéPaul, Shyla Lefner, Anthony Michael Lopez, John McGinty, Bryonha Marie, Kevyn Morrow, Hagan Oliveras, Noah Pyzik, Sky Smith, Bill Timoney, Ricardo Vázquez, Matthew Elijah Webb, Greg Wood and Nimene Sierra Wureh.
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As for opening night, a slew of stars showed up to support the show including couple Nina Dobrev and Shaun White, who posed separately in coordinating black outfits.
Other stars at the event included Donna Murphy, Danny Burstein, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Raúl Esparza, Lorraine Toussaint, Michael Kors and Andre De Shields.
Tickets for Our Town are on sale now.
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