★★★☆☆ Tom Hanks and Kelli O'Hara star in this sci-fi romance co-written by Hanks and James Glossman Kelli O’Hara and Tom Hanks in This World of Tomorrow. Photo credit: Marc J. Franklin Tom Hanks has always been a bit of a nerd. Whether it’s World War II, the space program, or vintage typewriters, he’s indulged his passions with the eagerness of a teenager. He’s now directed his obsessive nature to old time New York — specifically the 1939 World’s Fair — in This World of Tomorrow. Co-written by Hanks and James Glossman and adapted from several stories in Hanks’ 2017 collection Uncommon Type, this sweet sci-fi romance plays into the actor’s strengths. So much so, in fact, that one can easily imagine it as a movie reuniting him with his frequent co-star Meg Ryan. That probably would have been a better way to go, since the play — receiving its world premiere at the Shed and marking Hanks’ first NYC stage appearance since his 2013 Tony-nominated turn in Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy — feels forced onstage. Director Kenny Leon has assembled a terrific cast for the production, including Kelli O’Hara, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Jay O. Sanders, but he’s failed to give it a staging stylish enough to compensate for the script’s silliness and redundancies. It’s still fun to watch. How could it not be, with Hanks and O’Hara onstage? But the convoluted storyline — reminiscent of such time-travel stories as the film Somewhere in Time and the classic Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever — never fully comes to life. [ Read Melissa Rose Bernardo’s ★★★☆☆ review here. ] In the opening scene, we see Bert Allenberry (Hanks, wearing a terrible wig) and his younger companion Cyndee (Kerry Bishé) wandering through the Fair, wearing buttons adorned with the phrase “I Have Seen the Future.” And indeed they have, since it turns out they’re scientists from the year 2089 who have ventured back in time. While there, Bert strikes up a conversation with two strangers, Carmen (O’Hara) and her young niece Virginia (Kayli Carter, coming across as much older than her character), offering them the VIP passes he won’t have time to use. Returning to the year 2089, Bert enthusiastically regales his colleagues, including his associate M-Dash (Santiago-Hudson), with the glories of the past, including the food that’s “all animal protein and fat” and the “best tasting cake in the history of my birthday.” Fascinated by the Fair and eager to see the lovely Carmen again, Bert makes a series of return trips, each time arriving on the same time and location that he met her originally. Which inevitably leads to repetition, as the meeting is replayed over and over, in Groundhog Day fashion, only without the witty variations. Along the way, Burt, Carmen and Virginia take in the Fair’s various attractions, about which Bert, having done extensive research, knows a lot. But the repeated time travel takes a toll on him when he discovers blood coming out of his ears at the cliffhanger end of Act 1. Playing to Hanks’ strengths, the play emerges as a love story, although the relationship between the two central characters is insufficiently developed. What seems to interest the writers more is Bert’s increasing wonderment at the past — “Cream? From a cow?” he asks incredulously while ordering a cup of coffee — and showcasing their extensive knowledge of 1939 New York. The references come fast and furious, including The Hot Mikado, Toots Shor’s, the Astor Bar, Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story at the Shubert, the Automat, Earl Wilson, and every daily newspaper published during the time. Bert also takes great pleasure in speaking the era’s distinctive lingo, tossing out expressions like “sawbuck” and “two bits” with the enthusiasm of someone learning a foreign language. It’s all…a bit much, including the stultifying barrage of sci-fi jargon in the scenes set in the future. And like so many time-travel stories, This World of Tomorrow too often resorts to cheap irony, as when Bert talks about the Fair’s Japanese Pavilion “dedicated to the Eternal Peace and Friendship between the United States and the Emperor of Japan.” But that’s better than the hokey scenes set in a Greek diner where the proprietor (Jay O. Sanders, having a good time) dispenses heavily-accented advice in oracle fashion. All of this hokiness might have been more palatable if director Leon had provided some flair or imagination to the staging. But the flat, sluggish proceedings (the play runs two-and-a-quarter hours but feels longer) never come to life, with a scenery malfunction at the attended preview performance providing a literal reminder of the overall ineffectiveness. And yet, it’s still Hanks up there. He’s one of America’s most beloved actors for a reason, and his charisma, playfulness and humor shine brightly over the material. And O’Hara is even better, delivering the sort of luminous performance that has made her one of Broadway’s most beloved performers. Their combined star power makes This World of Tomorrow a must-see event, even if you never shake the feeling that it would have worked much better as a film. This World of Tomorrow opened November 18, 2025, at The Shed and runs through December 21. Tickets and information: theshed.org About Frank Scheck Frank Scheck has been covering film, theater and music for more than 30 years. He is currently a New York correspondent and arts writer for The Hollywood Reporter. He was previously the editor of Stages Magazine, the chief theater critic for the Christian Science Monitor, and a theater critic and culture writer for the New York Post. His writing has appeared in such publications as the New York Daily News, Playbill, Backstage, and various national and international newspapers. Primary Sidebar Source: https://nystagereview.com/2025/11/18/this-world-of-tomorrow-time-travel-story-suffers-from-deja-vu/