Katie Holmes is actually a live actor!

Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images / Jan. 9, 2008It's true! Katie Holmes isn't just a pretty, skinny Victoria Beckham-wannabe clothes horse; nor is she simply a trophy wife capable of possibly giving birth to her movie star husband's adorable progeny.No, it turns out that Katie Holmes is actually a three-dimensional acting person. How do we know this? She's doing what most failed movie actresses do when their managers tell them it's time for an image improvement.She's going to Broadway.As had been rumored for a while, Holmes will make her Broadway debut in a revival of Arthur Miller's 1947 drama All My Sons.So let me just make sure I've got everything straight here. Great play about a manufacturer whose greedy sloppiness may have cost American soldiers' lives -- check. Great, capable actors -- Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow and Patrick Wilson, check. Presence of Tom Cruise's wife, whose theater chops are completely untested -- check. Now don't get me wrong. Back in the day I was a huge "Dawson's Creek" fan, watched every episode and developed some affection for the young Ms. Holmes, whose gawky charm was just right for her character, Joey Potter. But it takes a giant leap of imagination to see that kind of small-screen acting translating well to the stage. In her checkered movie career, Holmes actually registerd in Pieces of April, though my favorite of her movie roles is in Sam Raimi's 2000 The Gift. That's the Holmes I'd like to see on stage.The Simon McBurney-directed All My Sons will bow later this fall. Theater tbd.It's probably not at all surprising that Holmes' jump to the stage follows two things: a flop movie (Mad Money alongside Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah) and Jennifer Garner's successful stint in Cyrano opposite Kevin Kline. All those tabloid shots of the grinning Garner and hubby Ben Affleck playing in New York parks with daughter Violet were probably more than Holmes could stand: credibility and maximum exposure.