Hanks' THIS WORLD OF TOMORROW at The Shed Previews

Tom Hanks and James Glossman's This World of Tomorrow, adapted from Hanks' short stories, begins its Off-Broadway world premiere at The Shed October 30, playing the venue's Griffin Theater. Opening night is November 18, with the limited run scheduled to continue through December 21.

Two-time Academy Award winner Hanks is also starring in the work as Bert Allenberry, a scientist from the future who travels through time to 1939's World's Fair in Queens, New York, in search of true love. The story comes from a collection of Hanks' short stories that was published in 2017.

The starry production also includes Kelli O'Hara, Kerry Bishé, Kayli Carter, Paul Murphy, Jamie Ann Romero, Lee Aaron Rosen, Jay O. Sanders, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Donald Webber Jr., and Michelle Wilson.

Tony winner Kenny Leon is directing.

Hanks is best known for his screen work in such titles as Sleepless in Seattle, Big, Apollo 13, and Forrest Gump. He made his Broadway debut in 2013's Lucky Guy, earning a Tony Award for his performance. His last stage performance was as Falstaff in Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles' 2018 Henry IV. This performance is his first New York stage performance in more than a decade.

Tickets are at TheShed.org.

Shows produced at The Shed don't tend to transfer to Broadway. It seems to be viewed as an alternative rather than a gateway.

Many thoughts:

1) The time travel concept set at the World’s Fair with a romance happening is very much what sold me on this, but this went too long and was trying to get deep, but it never fully hit. There were a couple of good lines (*SPOILER* when discussing the exhibits on the technology at the Fair, O’Hara’s character says, “Aren’t we just replacing the issues we have with new issues” or something along those lines).

2) The actress playing O’Hara’s young niece was good, but that should’ve been played by an actual young person. It just would’ve hit differently.

3) In the program, Hanks is interviewed and talks about the writing process and how some characters were just placeholders. They still feel like that - underdeveloped yet given too much to say.

4) Sets were nice if nothing special (kind of like the whole play). Projections on the poles and walls with a few set pieces speeding in in various moments. I appreciated the automat moment.

5) Honestly, Hanks is the biggest problem. I didn’t buy him as O’Hara’s love interest. Why was he so into her? What caused him to fall for her? I needed him to have more of an obvious moment of the “fall.” He also just felt too old (sorry). Had someone else played the part and he was credited as writer, would he sell the same amount of tickets? No. But would the show work better? I really think yes.

6) On top of that, I’m genuinely a little worried about Hanks because his hands were shaking. Hope it was normal nerves.

7) The ending needs to be shorter and pack more or a punch. I thought it was done in 3 spots, but it kept going.

Overall, the audience was VERY subdued and clearly there to say they saw Tom Hanks. It’s very old-fashioned in a sweet way, but at The Shed, where things are a little more “hip,” those old-fashioned references and slang are not really a selling point. There are admirable things about this and it could be good, but it still needs a lot of work, in my humble opinion.

Updated On: 11/1/25 at 10:34 PM