Suri Cruise lands major Shakespeare role as she takes the next step in her acting career

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ daughter, Suri, who now performs professionally as Suri Noelle, is taking another significant step toward building a career on her own terms. 

The 20-year-old is set to star in a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream while continuing her studies at one of the country’s top drama schools.

As reported by Page Six, Suri will appear in Midsummer!, a contemporary 90-minute reimagining of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy performed by students from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

The production will debut at Pittsburgh’s Trust Arts Education Center’s Peirce Studio on July 31 and August 1 before traveling overseas for a month-long run at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious performing arts festivals. The cast will perform from August 7 through August 31.

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The adaptation features a modern verse script by Tony Award-winning Avenue Q writer Jeffrey Whitty and is directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Kim Weild. The production offers a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s classic comedy for modern audiences.

Building her career one stage at a time:

The announcement also confirms a detail that had long been the subject of speculation. Suri is officially majoring in Musical Theater at Carnegie Mellon University’s renowned School of Drama.

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After completing her sophomore year, she continues to focus on live performance while training at one of the nation’s most respected theater programs. Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama has produced generations of acclaimed Broadway performers, actors, and creative artists.

Earlier this year, she appeared as Angel in the staged reading of Cosmic Microwave Background at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theater, adding another theater credit outside the classroom.

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Her passion for performing dates back to high school. While attending New York City’s prestigious LaGuardia High School, Suri played Morticia Addams in The Addams Family and later portrayed Philoclea in Head Over Heels. It was in the playbill for that production that audiences first noticed she was credited professionally as Suri Noelle.

The meaning behind her professional name:

After graduating from LaGuardia High School in 2024, Suri began using Suri Noelle professionally, adopting her mother Katie Holmes’ middle name as her professional surname.

While Suri has never publicly discussed the decision, the move has been widely viewed as a way of distinguishing her professional identity as she begins building her own career.

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Rather than making her professional debut through film or television, Suri has focused on theater training and live performance. Her upcoming appearances in Pittsburgh and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe represent her biggest public acting opportunity to date and will introduce her work to international theater audiences.

Katie Holmes has long supported her daughter’s artistic ambitions:

Katie Holmes has frequently spoken about how proud she is of Suri’s dedication and work ethic.

In previous interviews, Holmes has described her daughter as naturally creative and someone who commits herself fully to the activities she loves. She has also admitted that watching Suri leave for college was an emotional milestone, while celebrating her daughter’s growing independence.

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Their creative collaboration began several years ago when Suri contributed vocals to Holmes’ 2022 film Alone Together, singing the classic song “Blue Moon” for the movie’s opening credits.

Now, with a Shakespeare adaptation, an international theater festival, and one of America’s leading drama schools helping shape her career, Suri Noelle appears to be steadily building a résumé rooted in training and stage experience.