Zoey Deutch Calls Her ‘Special’ Our Town Costar Katie Holmes ‘Pure Sunshine’ (Exclusive)

Katie Holmes and Zoey Deutch are developing a special bond onstage.

“She is pure sunshine,” says Deutch, 29, of her costar in Our Town, opening on Broadway at New York’s Barrymore Theatre Oct. 10. Holmes, 45, plays Mrs. Webb, mother to Deutch’s Emily Webb. 

Deutch, making her Broadway debut in director Kenny Leon’s star-studded revival of Thornton Wilder’s classic drama, is grateful for the “warmth and love” she receives from Holmes on and off the stage. “It's impossible not to feel. She's a really, very special person.”

She continues, “I feel very lucky that I get to be with her in this capacity.”

The same goes for the rest of Our Town’s large ensemble — 28 actors, to be exact — who couldn’t help but “bond,” Deutch tells PEOPLE, during rehearsals and in the Barrymore. “You're in very small spaces for very long periods of time,” she points out. “Every individual is just remarkable, truly.”

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In August, Holmes shared a series of Polaroids on her Instagram, showcasing fun behind-the-scenes moments working on the show with Deutch. She captioned the post, "We are in rehearsals and having a great time. This is the very talented and kind and funny and wonderful @zoeydeutch and me."

Deutch and Holmes are joined onstage by Jim Parsons in the lead role of the Stage Manager, plus Ephraim Sykes, Billy Eugene Jones, Richard Thomas, Michelle Wilson, Donald Webber, Jr., Hagan Oliveras, honorary Tony-winner Julie Halston and more. 

“I'm just trying to soak up everything I can and watch them,” says Deutch of her many costars. “I'm having the time of my life.”

That’s also because Our Town has remained the Something from Tiffany's producer-star’s “favorite play” since childhood, she adds.

“Specifically this show for me, I have been in love with for as long as I can remember. It's the piece of writing and text that I've returned to more than anything I can think of. It has just been so important to me and such a dream for me to play Emily Webb."

“So to have it be done in this way with these people and this director and on Broadway feels beyond special,” Deutch adds. “Things really do happen the way that they're supposed to.”

Our Town first opened on Broadway in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play has been revived on Broadway four times since, most recently in a 2002 production led by the late Paul Newman. Tickets are on sale now.