When Tom Hanks first appears as the time-traveling lead character in This World of Tomorrow—possibly the most listless play in New York this Fall—the audience breaks out into the now-customary ripple of applause accorded to a celebrity’s first appearance on stage.
If this round of applause sounds a little tentative, it might be because people are wondering if it’s really Hanks. His character, Bert Allenberry, sports a visually discombobulating grey wig. Under its smoothly parted thatch, it is indeed the movie star; as soon as Bert opens his mouth, we hear the craggily folksy, reassuring timbre of America’s ur-dad.
But the thrill is short-lived. While it is quite the coup to tempt Hanks back to the stage—after his Tony-nominated Broadway run playing journalist Mike McAlary in Nora Ephron’s 2013 play, Lucky Guy—this new play, directed by Kenny Leon and running at the Shed until Dec. 21, is the limpest possible vehicle for Hanks’ talents.
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