Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW is the theatrical equivalent of a summer Hollywood blockbuster

• By drediman
• May 8, 2025
• No Comments

Last night at the Marquis Theatre, I caught up with the Broadway transfer of the theatrical prequel to the hit science fiction television series Stranger Things. Entitled Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the enormous production arrives stateside after having proven to be a hit in London, where it has been running since 2023. Set during the 1950s in the fictitious Midwestern town of Hawkins, the ingeniously plotted prequel follows the adventures of several of the adult characters of the television series as high school teenagers (no spoilers here). In short, not since Harry Potter and Cursed Child has a play of this size and spectacle — heavyweight British producer Sonia Friedman is behind both behemoths, as is playwright Jack Thorne (who came up with the story for The First Shadow with Kate Trefry and the Duffer Brothers) — graced the Great White Way.

Director Stephen Daldry’s New York production of The First Shadow — co-staged by Justin Martin — seems punchier and more convincingly grounded in American culture than its London counterpart (although the lighthearted homage to theater still comes across as a tad forced). The cinematic pacing registers somewhat more aggressively, especially as aided by the creative use of a turntable and high resolution projections that seamlessly melds into the practical sets. It all amounts to an exciting and immersive theatrical equivalent of a summer Hollywood blockbuster — complete with dazzling “how did they do that?” special effects — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, although technically a play, some scenes have the choreographed grandiosity of a big Broadway musical. And as a loving homage to and a light parody of 1950s small town Americana (think Back to the Future, the movie not the unfortunate musical it inspired), it succeeds largely just as well as the television series does as it relates to the 1980s.

After his success across the pond, Louis McCartney repeats his duties portraying the central character of Henry Creel, and It’s one of the most relentlessly intense and physical performances of the season. That McCartney is able to give the tortured character as much depth as he does while pulling off the feat eight times a week is a marvel. The rest of the cast do a fine job, especially those playing the adults — T. R. Knight is especially effective as Henry’s father Victor Creel, an alcoholic World War II veteran who continues to be traumatized by his wartime experience, as is Andrew Hovelson as the emotionally abusive high school principal. And as Henry’s love interest Patty Newby, Gabrielle Nevaeh is lovely in an unaffected, down-to-earth kind of way. As the teenage iterations of Joyce Maldonado and James Hopper, Jr., respectively, Alison Jaye and Burke Swanson both give energetically broad if two-dimensional performances.

RECOMMENDED

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW
Broadway, Play
Marquis Theatre
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run