Katie Holmes Recalls What Happened When She Forgot Her Lines Mid-Scene on Broadway: 'I Got So Red'

Mar. 15, 2025

Katie Holmes on opening night of Broadway’s “Our Town” in Oct. 2024.Photo:Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Katie Holmesunderstands the show must go on.

“One time I didn’t do it, and I was in the middle of a scene and I just said the whole line except the last word, and I couldn’t remember it,” Holmes said.

“I made something up but it didn’t make sense,” the actress continued. “And then I got so red becauseJim Parsons, who’s delightful, he’s onstage most of the time because he’s the stage manager. And so I’m like, ‘Oh my God. Jim knows. He’s watching. AndEphraim [Sykes]knows because I was saying it to him, and thenRichard Thomas. Oh God.’ ”

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Katie Holmes at opening night of Broadway’s ‘Our Town’ in Oct. 2024.Arturo Holmes/Getty

Arturo Holmes/Getty

Holmes recalled how she became flustered during the moment then rushed to get through the scene.

“[I] got off stage, and Jim gave me a hug after,” Holmes said. “He was like, ‘I’ve never seen anyone say their lines so fast and remove themselves.’ "

“And nobody cared, but I cared,” the actress added. “I’m like, ‘This is Broadway!’ ”

Holmes noted that the script also requires her to mime. “Thornton Wilder wrote this in 1938, and it takes place in 1901, and so he’s written in that the mom’s, like, I’m making oatmeal,” she said. “But then our director Kenny Leon was like, ‘You know, I really want everyone to bring themselves to the characters.’ So over time, I’m like, ‘I am getting so sick of miming oatmeal.’ ”

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The cast of Broadway’s ‘Our Town’ on opening night in Oct. 2024.Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Holmes said she started a recurring gag onstage, where she pretends to make a new dish every night, including quiche and pancakes.

“But you know who appreciates my cooking is Richard Thomas,” Holmes said. “He’s like, ‘Can you do a Dutch pancake? Do you know what that is?’ And I was like, ‘Yes!’ ”

Our Townmarks a Broadway return for Holmes, who made her debut in the 2008 revival ofAll My Sons, and later starred in the 2012 playDead Accounts. Holmes noted thatOur Townis a particularly special production as well.

“It’s like a dream job,” Holmes said. “And I love this play. It’s been done so many times. … Our director said this isOur Townfor our time. And so it’s a bit of a reimagining but the script is, obviously, still the same.”

“We have a great time,” Holmes added, of the cast. “We all really love each other.”

source: people.com