Tom Hanks is set to co-write and appear in an off-Broadway play.
The Oscar winner will bring The World of Tomorrow to the Shed’s Griffin Theatre in New York in October through December.
Based on his short stories, Hanks will play a scientist from the future in search of true love who keeps returning to the same day in 1939 at the World’s Fair in Queens.
“To explore the themes of love and yearning, and the struggles of today as we carry with us the eternal memories of the past, in such a place as the Shed, strikes me as a one-of-a-kind experience not unlike the World’s Fair of 1939,” Hanks said in a statement.
Hanks will co-write with James Glossman. The play will be directed by the Tony award winner Kenny Leon who recently took on Othello for Broadway with Denzel Washington starring.
“It will be a joy to experience Tom leading the cast on stage in this time-traveling adventure of the limitless power of love and the distance one is willing to go for it,” Leon said. “This story explores a fascinating tale of the echoes of past generations, the often-surprising collisions between them, and what is carried forward with an authentic humor I can’t wait to bring to life in the Griffin Theatre.”
Hanks has previously been nominated for a Tony for his role in 2013’s Lucky Guy, a newsroom drama written by Nora Ephron.
The actor, who won two Oscars for his performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, was last seen on screen in Robert Zemeckis’s Here. He will also appear in Wes Anderson’s new film The Phoenician Scheme and will reprise the role of Woody in Toy Story 5.
