Cruise at wife's Broadway debut

Holmes (second from right) "held her own", said one audience member

Katie Holmes has made her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's All My Sons, with husband Tom Cruise looking on.

Dustin Hoffman was also present at the play's first preview, which drew a standing ovation from the audience.

Cruise called the show "extraordinary" as he left the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York on Thursday.

Directed by Britain's Simon McBurney, the production - which runs until 11 January - also stars John Lithgow and double Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest.

The play - first staged on Broadway in 1947 - has its official opening on 16 October.

Holmes said the performance had been "fine" as she left the theatre with Lithgow.

Protest

The 29-year-old plays the prospective daughter-in-law of a successful businessman who is revealed to have made his fortune selling defective airplane parts.

"It was a very tough role in that she had to be delicate, hurt and strong," audience member Diane Yatauro told the Associated Press.

"She was playing against some heavyweights who've been around for a long time and she held her own."

Before the show, around 30 protestors mounted a demonstration against the Church of Scientology outside the theatre.

Cruise, currently to be seen in comedy Tropic Thunder, is one of the organisation's most prominent members.