“Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” a play based on the hugely popular Netflix series “Stranger Things,” is coming to Broadway.
According to Deadline, previews of the play will begin at the Marquis Theater on March 28, 2025. The official premiere will take place on April 22.
As the Deseret News reported at the time, the show was set to premiere in the West End in 2023.
According to Deadline, it won two Olivier Awards in 2024 for Best Entertainment Play and Best Set Design.
The cast of the Broadway musical “Stranger Things: The First Shadows” has not yet been announced, according to Deadline.
What is the plot of the play “Stranger Things”?
According to Deadline, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is based on an original story by the Duffer brothers, the creators of “Stranger Things,” and is “rooted in the mythology and world of the television series.”
The piece is a prequel to “Stranger Things”.
The official plot reads: “Before the breathtaking events of the ’80s, long before Mike, Will, Eleven and the gang embarked on their heroic journeys, Hawkins was just a normal town with normal worries.”
The plot description continues: “It’s 1959 and young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister doesn’t take his radio show seriously, and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and then get out of town as quickly as possible. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that starting over isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past linger long.”
Ross Duffer, one half of the Duffer brothers, said he and his brother wanted to explore the past of Henry Creel – also known as Vecna, the big villain from Stranger Things who first appears in Season 4.
“So the first idea was to explore Henry’s backstory, and then we realized he would be the same age as teenagers Joyce, Hopper and Bob, which is something we’ve always wanted to do,” Duffer said, according to Netflix. “We love the ’50s almost as much, if not more, than the ’80s, so it was an excuse to do something set in that era and explore what they were up to in high school.”
Stranger Things: The First Shadow gives fans the chance to see popular characters as teenagers. According to Netflix, Joyce, Hopper and Bob are in their senior year of high school and Henry Creel is in his first year.
Reviews of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow”
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” received mostly positive reviews when it opened in West London in 2023:
- The Guardian gave it five stars and wrote: “Those familiar with the series can trace the storylines, but the production is not just a clever parlor game for fans. When viewed anew, it is still irresistible.”
- Variety wrote: “In the town of Hawkins, you can’t take anything for granted, but this feels like a huge hit.”
- The New York Times wrote that Stranger Things was suffering from “franchise fatigue.” They wrote, “‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ accomplishes what it sets out to do, and diehard fans are sure to devour it — but it may well prove to be a death throe. The real spectacle here is a franchise eating itself.”
- The BBC gave Stranger Things: The First Shadows four out of five stars and wrote: “A show like this succeeds artistically when it is entertaining in its own right but also an authentic-feeling addition to the Stranger Things universe. It ticks both boxes.”
- The Hollywood Reporter praised the play’s special effects, writing, “There are smoke effects, exploding flashbulbs and some of the most impressive and varied uses of the physical stage I’ve ever seen.”
