Hanks plays Bert Allenberry, a scientist living near the end of the 21st century who travels back to the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens, searching for the love his own time never gave him. There he meets Carmen, played by Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara, and the two begin a romance that reaches across generations.
According to BroadwayWorld, the production will play a strictly limited engagement in fall 2027 at a Shubert theater still to be announced. Performance dates, ticket on-sale information and additional casting will be shared at a later date.
Tony Award winner Kenny Leon, who directed the world premiere, will direct the Broadway production. “I’m so excited to continue this work on this amazing new American play,” Leon said in a statement, adding that he looks forward to more audiences getting to see the onstage chemistry between O’Hara and Hanks.
This World of Tomorrow is based on a series of short stories from Uncommon Type, Hanks’s 2017 collection, which he adapted for the stage with James Glossman. The play premiered at The Shed’s Griffin Theater in New York in November 2025 and played a sold-out eight-week run through December 21, with Hanks and O’Hara originating their roles.
The Broadway run marks Hanks’s first appearance on a Broadway stage in 14 years. He made his Broadway debut in 2013 in Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy, playing New York newspaper columnist Mike McAlary, and earned a Tony Award nomination for the performance. O’Hara is a nine-time Tony nominee who won the award for The King and I.
Fall 2027 is shaping up to be a season of major returns. It is the same season that brings the 50th anniversary Broadway revival of Annie, directed by Sam Pinkleton, giving theater fans two landmark productions to look forward to.
The Broadway production will be presented by producer Brian Anthony Moreland in association with The Shed. Watch for the theater announcement and performance dates in the months ahead.