Tom Hanks Returns to Broadway After 14 Years with This World of Tomorrow

Tom Hanks will return to Broadway for the first time in 14 years, starring in the new play "This World of Tomorrow" at a Shubert theater still to be named.

Hanks last appeared on Broadway in 2013, in Nora Ephron's "Lucky Guy," a performance that earned him a Tony nomination. He rejoins Kelli O'Hara, the stage veteran who performed alongside him in the play's sold-out Off Broadway run last year at the Shed.

The material is Hanks's own. The play adapts a series of short stories he wrote, with a script he co-wrote with James Glossman. The producers describe it as a "time-travel romance" set at the end of the 21st century, following Bert Allenberry, a man determined to change his future by returning to the past.

The official logline reads: "When Bert journeys back — again, and again, and again — to one remarkable day at the 1939 New York World's Fair in Queens, he discovers that the future is shaped not by technology, but by the choices we make for love."

Who is making it?

Kenny Leon directs. His recent Broadway credits include "The Balusters," an "Othello" starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and "Our Town" with Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes. The complete cast and creative team will be confirmed at a later date; the specific Shubert venue has not been announced.

"I'm so excited to continue this work on this amazing new American play," Leon said. "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."

Alex Poots, artistic director of the Shed, where the play premiered, framed the transfer in terms of reach. "A beloved actor of our times, Tom Hanks co-created and starred in 'This World of Tomorrow' with the illuminating Kelli O'Hara for their sold out run at The Shed," Poots said. "Reminding us that while the world changes, the deepest of human connections endures and the power of love can transcend any era. Now this story of second chances gets to reach an even wider audience on Broadway."

Producer Brian Anthony Moreland called Hanks "one of the great storytellers of our time" and said it was an "incredible privilege" to bring the play to Broadway.

"There is something extraordinary about bringing a story that explores the power of love across time to a place where the magic of live theater happens every night," Moreland said. "At its heart, 'This World of Tomorrow' reminds us that no matter how much the world changes, the one thing that remains timeless is our capacity to love."

What does this change for Broadway?

The production pairs a Hollywood star of Hanks's drawing power with a proven director and an Off Broadway run already behind it — a combination that reliably moves tickets. What remains unknown is the basics: no theater, no opening date, no additional cast. Those details will determine whether the transfer lands this season or next.