Tom Hanks is returning to Broadway, this time as a writer as well as a performer.
Hanks, who has won two Academy Awards (for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump”), will star next fall in “This World of Tomorrow,” a time-travel romance based on short stories he wrote.
The forthcoming production is being announced on Thursday. Here’s what we know so far:
When and where will it be?
The play will be staged in the fall of 2027 for a limited run; dates have not yet been announced, nor has a specific theater.
What is the story?
The play is about a businessman in the year 2089 who experiments with time travel and winds up at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens. He falls for a woman he meets there, and, given that they live in different centuries, things get complicated.
The story draws on elements from “Uncommon Type,” a collection of short stories by Hanks that was published in 2017. The play was previously staged last year at the Shed, a performing arts venue in Manhattan. Reviews were not great, but sales were strong.
Who is involved?
Hanks is co-writing the adaptation with the playwright James Glossman. Although best known for his film work, Hanks has one previous Broadway credit: In 2013 he starred in the play “Lucky Guy,” and was nominated for a Tony Award.
His co-star, reprising her role from the Shed production, will be Kelli O’Hara, a Broadway mainstay who won a Tony Award in 2015 for a revival of “The King and I.”
The production will be directed by Kenny Leon, a Tony winner for a 2014 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun.” It is being produced by Brian Anthony Moreland (“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone”) in association with the Shed.
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