Katie Holmes was met with a standing ovation from critics after her first performance on Broadway in dramatic stage play All My Sons.

The actress took to the stage on Thursday night for a preview performance - less than a month before the show is scheduled to open its curtains to the public.

Holmes drew a star-studded crowd to the show, including husband Tom Cruise - who hailed her performance as 'extraordinary' and was joined by his Rain Man co-star Dustin Hoffman in the audience.

Now critics have piled in to echo the Hollywood actor, praising Holmes' skill in the Arthur Miller play.

In a review from the Associated Press, one critic says: "If Holmes felt nervous and jittery, she didn't show it. She delivered her lines with confidence and projected her girlish voice so it could be heard loud and clear.

"She danced around on stage with gusto. She looked lovely in two dresses that highlighted her trim yet shapely figure."

A theatregoer and friend of Holmes, New Yorker Nadja Forbes, adds: "She brings this fresh breeze of air not only in her acting but also in her dialogue that kind of breaks up the seriousness of what's going on. I'm actually surprised that she's, you know, enough of an actress for being on Broadway."