Tom Hanks to return to Broadway after 14 years with new play on love and time travel

Hollywood star Tom Hanks is set to return to Broadway after a 14-year gap with This World of Tomorrow, a time-travel romance he has co-created from a collection of his own short stories.

Hanks last appeared on Broadway in Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy in 2013, earning a Tony Award nomination for his performance. The upcoming production marks his return to the New York stage after more than a decade.

This World of Tomorrow was first staged Off-Broadway last year, with Hanks sharing the stage with theatre veteran Kelli O’Hara. Set in the late 21st century, the play follows Bert Allenberry, a man who repeatedly travels back in time in a bid to alter his future.

According to the production’s official synopsis, Bert returns “again, and again, and again” to one extraordinary day at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens. There, he discovers that the future is shaped not by technological advances, but by the choices people make in the name of love.

The production will be directed by Kenny Leon, whose recent theatre credits include The Balusters, Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and Our Town, featuring Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes.

“I’m so excited to continue this work on this amazing new American play. There’s no time like the present to further explore this story of love and time travel from Glossman and Hanks,” Leon said.

Producer Brian Anthony Moreland described Hanks as “one of the great storytellers of our time”, calling it an “incredible privilege” to bring the play to Broadway.