Tom Hanks is returning to Broadway as a co-writer as well as a star. This World of Tomorrow, the play Hanks wrote with James Glossman, will play Broadway in fall 2027 at a Shubert-owned theater still to be announced, Playbill reported on October 22. Tony winner Kelli O’Hara will reprise her role opposite him.
It will be Hanks’ first time on the Broadway stage in more than 14 years. The two-time Academy Award winner made his Broadway debut in Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy, which earned him a Tony nomination.
What is This World of Tomorrow about?
The time-travel romance grew out of Hanks’ fiction from his 2017 book Uncommon Type. Hanks plays Bert Allenberry, a scientist living near the end of the 21st century, when travel back in time has become possible. Bert returns again and again to one day, June 8, 1939, at the New York World’s Fair in Queens, where he meets and falls for a woman named Carmen, played by O’Hara. As Broadway News puts it, he discovers that “the future is shaped not by technology, but by the choices we make for love.”
Where did This World of Tomorrow premiere?
The play had its world premiere Off-Broadway at The Shed in 2025, with Hanks and O’Hara in the leading roles.
Who is directing This World of Tomorrow on Broadway?
Tony winner Kenny Leon, who directed the Off-Broadway premiere, returns to stage the Broadway transfer. “I’m so excited to continue this work on this amazing new American play,” Leon said in a statement. “There’s no time like the present to further explore this story of love and time travel from Glossman and Hanks. More than anything, I look forward to even more audiences who will have the chance to witness the onstage chemistry of Kelli O’Hara and Tom Hanks.”
The production is produced by Brian Anthony Moreland, with 101 Productions, Ltd. as general managers. The complete cast and creative team will be announced later.
What are Kelli O’Hara and Kenny Leon known for on Broadway?
O’Hara won her Tony for The King and I. Her many other Tony-nominated performances include Kiss Me, Kate, The Bridges of Madison County, South Pacific, Days of Wine and Roses and Fallen Angels, and she stars on screen in HBO’s The Gilded Age. Leon won a Tony for directing A Raisin in the Sun, and his Tony-nominated work includes Purlie Victorious, Our Town and The Balusters.
About the author
Miles covers international and touring theater, including Broadway news, for The Broadway Guide.