Now that she’s ditched Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes is going to reinvent herself on the Great White Way.
The actress will appear at the Music Box Theatre this fall in a new comedy by “Smash” creator Theresa Rebeck called “Dead Accounts.”
The play is about a family in Cincinnati whose domestic peace is upended when Jack, a sort of prodigal son, returns home. Holmes will play Jack’s sister, Lorna, who questions why her brother’s back, where he got all his money and what happened to his much-hated wife.
The role, production sources say, is not glamorous — the character’s “kind of dowdy,” one person says — but it will give Holmes a chance to show off her comic timing.
At least this time the joke won’t be her marriage.
Holmes liked the role because she, too, is from Ohio, sources say. The family is also Catholic, which should be a refreshing change from all that Scientology mumbo-jumbo she had to put up with from Cruise.
The production’s been in the works for several months — but the announcement was put off until after the dust settled from news of Holmes-Cruise split.
While they’ve tried to put the best face on the breakup, there have been reports that they’re locked in an ugly custody battle for their daughter, Suri.
Holmes last appeared on Broadway in 2008 in a revival of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons.” She had a supporting role, and while nobody would ever mistake her for Meryl Streep, she turned in a solid, professional performance.
She also sold tickets. The production received mixed reviews, but made a tidy profit for investors. Fans lined up every night outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre to catch a glimpse of her and Cruise.
This time around, they might catch a glimpse of her and Suri.
Broadway’s a good place for Holmes to establish herself outside the Cruise-Scientology umbrella.
It worked, after all, for Cruise’s first wife, Nicole Kidman.
In 1998, when Kidman was basically Mrs. Tom Cruise, she appeared on Broadway in David Hare’s sexually charged drama, “The Blue Room.” Kidman removed her clothes for about four seconds — and landed on the cover of Newsweek magazine.
She also got decent reviews and established herself as an A-list actress.
In later years, she’d tell friends that appearing on Broadway in “The Blue Room” was a major turning point in her career.
Holmes, sources say, is hoping to pull off the same feat.
“She’s going to get a ton of publicity for this, publicity that’s not about him and Suri and the divorce,” says a veteran theater producer.
“It’s a dramatic way of saying, I’m moving on.”
The only down side is that she won’t be able to get too far away from the Scientologists.
Their New York chapter is located on West 46th Street — just around the corner from the Music Box.