John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson & Katie Holmes in “All My Sons”. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Where do you go when you’ve just divorced your mega-star husband in a very public surprise split? Disneyland?
If you’re Katie Holmes, you’re going to Broadway. This fall, she’ll star in Dead Accounts, a new comedy from former Smash head-writer Theresa Rebeck, billed as the story of “corporate greed, small town values and whether or not your family will always welcome you back…with no questions asked.” Perhaps these themes resonated with Ms. Holmes?
The news got me thinking (which we know is a dangerous thing) about the stage careers of all the ex-Mrs. Cruise. And it turns out, they are no strangers to treading the boards, even on Broadway. Let’s take a closer look at the stats — and some amusing video…
Katie Holmes, #3
Marquee Role: Good girl Joey Potter on Dawson’s Creek.
Broadway Experience: Dead Accounts will mark Holmes’s second Broadway turn after appearing in the acclaimed 2008 revival of All My Sons. Of her performance in the Arthur Miller classic, New York Times said, “The very different leading actresses — the stage veteran Ms. Wiest and the neophyte Ms. Holmes, in her Broadway debut — are sad casualties of Mr. McBurney’s high-concept approach.”
My take: You know, I think returning to Broadway is another savvy move by Ms. Holmes following her brilliantly executed, Mission Impossible-style divorce (secret cell phones and covert meetings…awesome!). She gets to stay in New York with her daughter and solidify her custody bonafides while also saying to the world, “hey, I’d like to be seen as a serious actress again” without having to wait for a movie to be filmed, edited and released.
Cue the video: In happier times for the now separated couple, Katie serenaded Tom with a version of “Whatever Lola Wants” — recreating the role she played in her all-girls Catholic high school Damn Yankees. (Which begs the question…who played Joe? And how many Hail Marys do you have to say as penance for doing a play with “damn” in the title.)
Nicole Kidman, #2
Marquee Role: An Oscar for playing Virginia Wolfe in The Hours but…Moulin Rouge or The Others or Birth or To Die For…
Broadway Experience: Played multiple characters in David Hare’s 1998 sexual roundelay The Blue Room. The show famously became a major sellout thanks, so it was said, in no small part to Kidman’s very brief nude scene. Reviews were mixed but, according to Kidman, it led to her casting in both Moulin Rouge and The Hours.
My take: I lurve her. One of the bravest actresses working today; I’m still heartbroken that she will not be coming to Broadway in a David Cromer directed Sweet Bird of Youth, as long rumored. (Instead, Cromer will direct Diane Lane at the Goodman in Chicago. A lovely, underrated actress but not my Nickers.)
Cue the video: Even screen goddesses have to do public access television. Seriously. This is Nicole Kidman being “interviewed” by the delightfully semi-coherent hosts of “Working in the Theater”. (And since I have also been on this show, I can now claim that Nic and I are on the same level.) Watch Part 2 at 1:50 for her passionate thoughts about stage vs. film acting and Part 3 2:10 for the role she wishes she could play.
Mimi Rogers, #1
Marquee Role: Courted serious Oscar Buzz for The Rapture…and she made a sexy, mysterious rival as a recurring character on The X-Files.
Broadway Experience: None, so far. Her stage resume is light though she recently appeared in the final cast of Love, Loss and What I Wore at the Geffen in Los Angeles.
My take: Say what you will about Cruise but he has good taste in wives. Rogers may be the least well known but she’s always a welcome presence in every time she appears. Perhaps some enterprising producer will give her the right theater role to give her career a late inning boost.
Cue the Video: There’s no video of Rogers involving stage work. In fact, if you judge by youtube, her most popular film is something called Full Body Massage. Hmm. I think it’s best we leave that to another site to post.
