No anti-Scientology protesters will stand in the way of Katie Holmes' Broadway success as her performance in Thursday night's preview of the Arthur Miller drama "All My Sons" created some positive buzz around the show itself and Katie Holmes as well.

The night, however, was nearly eclipsed by Katie's husband’s presence in the audience – which might just be the real reason why a crowd of Scientology protesters, wearing marks like in "V for Vendetta," gathered outside the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre holding banners, which read "Free Katie," and chanting "Scientology Kills!" just as the curtain was about to go up.

Not much is known about the Anonymous members, but they’re the people who often wear those Guy Fawkes masks during protests, even though some chose not to wear any masks this time. The masks are supposedly meant as a symbol of the way Scientology silences its members.

Inside the theater, everything went as smoothly as planned, and the play started about 10 minutes late and the house was forced to dim the lights several times just to calm the flurry around Tom Cruise.

"I'm so proud of her," Cruise was quoted by People as saying just before the curtain went up. "This means so much to her."

While real reviews will start popping as soon as the play will officially open on October 16, sources in the show's attendance had only words of praise for the entire cast, including multiple Emmy Award and Tony Award winner John Lithgow, two-time Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest and Patrick Wilson.

Shedding the baggy T-shirts and jeans she has been sporting on the streets of New York for the past several months of rehearsals, Katie Holmes revealed a rail-thin physique in ’40s-style sundresses.

According to New York Daily News, audience members, many of whom bought tickets far in advance and traveled into the city especially for the show, agreed that Holmes gave a solid performance, "It was a great play. I loved it and Katie was very good," a fan attending the play said.

The actress received a standing ovation for her confident performance as the daughter of a corrupt businessman in the Arthur Miller revival. And the audience's verdict definitely mirrored that of Katie's number one fan, Tom, who declared her portrayal "extraordinary".

Katie was "actually pretty good. She has her hands on her hips a lot like she's posing for pictures and she projects her voice a bit too much, but she's a good actress," another audience member told OK! magazine.

Originally produced in 1947 (two years before playwright Miller's masterpiece, "Death of a Salesman"), "All My Sons" tells the story of a man (Lithgow) who sells defective airplane parts to the Army, causing the death of 21 men.

After the play ended, the former "Dawson's Creek" star walked out casually dressed in a black shirt and pants, happily posing for pictures.

"She should be very proud of her performance," said actor Dustin Hoffman, who was in the audience. "She did a fine job."