Tom Hanks and Kelli O’Hara are returning to This World of Tomorrow for its Broadway production, directed by Kenny Leon. Hanks and James Glossman adapted the actor’s short stories for the play, previously staged at The Shed. Its time-travelling protagonist revisits the New York World’s Fair; the Broadway theatre and complete company remain unannounced.
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Hanks and O’Hara reunite for Broadway
Tom Hanks and Kelli O’Hara have been announced as the leads of the Broadway production of This World of Tomorrow. Kenny Leon directs the play, which Hanks is writing with James Glossman.[1], [2]
The production carries forward a partnership already seen at The Shed, where Hanks and O’Hara appeared together in the play’s Off Broadway staging last year. Its move to Broadway gives the same two performers another engagement in the work. A theatre belonging to the Shubert group is planned, although the individual venue has not been named. The rest of the cast and the full creative team also remain unannounced.[1]
A journey returns to the 1939 World’s Fair
Hanks’s short stories provide the basis for the stage adaptation. At its centre is Bert Allenberry, whose story opens near the end of the 21st century; seeking to change what lies ahead of him, Bert travels back through time. He repeatedly returns to one particular day at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens. The same destination in the past becomes the setting for his attempt to alter his future.[1]
The production describes the romance in terms of decisions made for love and the possibility of second chances. Producer Brian Anthony Moreland emphasized those themes when discussing the Broadway production. Hanks therefore returns both as a performer and as a co-author of the material, with Glossman sharing the writing and Leon continuing the work’s stage development.[1]
Leon continues the stage collaboration
Leon said he was pleased to continue exploring the story with Glossman and Hanks, and wanted more audiences to see Hanks and O’Hara together on stage. Alex Poots, artistic director of The Shed, welcomed the Broadway move while recalling the earlier engagement. Leon’s recent Broadway work includes The Balusters, Othello with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and Our Town with Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes.[1]
For Hanks, the Broadway return follows Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy in 2013. That performance brought him a Tony nomination. His involvement in This World of Tomorrow, however, already includes the earlier run at The Shed, before the newly announced Broadway production.[1]
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