Katie Holmes shares personal message as she beams in behind-the-scenes pictures from long-awaited project

Katie Holmes was all smiles on Thursday October 10 as she attended the opening night party of her new Broadway play, Our Town.

The Dawson's Creek actress looked stunning in a black silk dress, styled by her longtime stylist Brie Welch, who joined Katie at the event, which was also attended by her costars Jim Parsons and Zoey Deutch.

© Arturo Holmes

The play is a retelling of the acclaimed 1938 play by Thornton Wilder; it follows two families in the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913, across three acts: life, love and death.

But the meta production plays around with breaking the fourth wall through a stage manager (played by The Big Bang Theory 's Jim) and includes time travel and characters returning from the grave.

"Love these beautiful artists," Katie captioned a Story which saw her posing for pictures with Zoey, Ephraim Sykes and Safiya Harris.

The reviews have been complimentary with the New York Times , writing: "To use this word in the only positive sense I can imagine, it’s unbearable: in its beauty, yes, but more so in its refusal to offer beauty as a cure when it is only, at best, a comfort."

The Washington Post wrote that the play works best with its "emotional transparency, which Holmes and [Michelle] Wilson deliver exceptionally well as the neighboring mothers".

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Katie has had several friends and family members come to support her during previews including her Dawson's Creek co-star Nina Repeta, who played her on-screen sister Bessie in the popular show.

The star's 18-year-old daughter Suri was also in the audience at the end of September before opening night, having traveled to New York City from her new home in Pittsburgh where she attends Carnegie Mellon University.

© Arturo Holmes

Suri was in the audience cheering on her mom, and was reportedly the first to get up from her seat to give her a standing ovation.

The teen may be following in her mom's footsteps as she graduated from LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts, where she was in the vocal music programme.

She is now studying at the College of Fine Arts, one of the oldest colleges of fine arts in the United States.

Katie, however, is looking forward to embracing her empty nest, teling Town & Country that she was interested in the idea of dancing again, as well as painting and reading, and revealed that she had recently joined a book club in New York City.