Broadway has been turned Upside Down with Stranger Things: The First Shadow. If you ever wanted to wanted to see more of Henry Creel’s turn Hawkins into the town overrun by demogorgons, this is the show for you.
Written by Kate Trefry and with a story by Trefry, Jack Thorne, and the Duffer Brothers, The First Shadow gives audiences a chance to venture to Hawkins and see what this sleepy Indiana town was like before Vecna haunted their children. Joyce Maldonado (Alison Jaye) keeps being pulled toward Lonnie Byers (Logan Gould) despite the adorably sweet and charismatic Jim Hopper (Burke Swanson) trying his best to share his feelings for her. Well, and Bob (Juan Carlos).
But even with all the little nods to the franchise we know and love, what makes this show special is how it makes you feel about Henry Creel. Played beautifully by Louis McCartney, The First Shadow truly makes you feel bad for Henry. He’s just a kid who wants to be normal and yet he’s forced into this role as the villain by those meant to protect him.
If anything, watching The First Shadow made Papa aka Dr. Brenner (Alex Breaux) that much more of a villain in my eyes. Even removing all of the aspects of Stranger Things and the larger world, this show is a fun glimpse into what stage magic can really do and it is captivating to watch.
One of the things about Stranger Things is that it reminds us of those 80s moves with practical effects, which is wild given the context of the show. And the stage show leans heavily into that and makes it one of the most visually stunning shows currently running on Broadway.
It felt great to be back in Hawkins
The world that the Duffer brothers built with Stranger Things is vast, impressive, and ever growing. So getting to see what happened between Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas met Eleven is exciting. Especially when the play brings a new light to the parents of Stranger Things. And, if anything, it made me feel bad for them.
All of these kids had such dreams in the late 50s. They wanted out of Hawkins, wanted to tell stories, or just wanted to be in love and when we see their kids fighting back against Vecna, they’re all disillusioned by the world and almost completely checked out. I was captivated by how Joyce, Bob, and Hopper all worked together and it made me sad to know how the three are by the start of the show.
But even though I’ve gotten a glimpse into some of my favorite characters from Hawkins (this will always be a Jim Hopper safe space), I really loved how The First Shadow gave us a new look into how Vecna came to be.
Henry Creel was not, at his core, a bad person. But evil men like Dr. Brenner used his abilities to his advantage and hurt innocent lives as a result and getting to see how that fed into Vecna’s relationship with Eleven later on in the show made this one worthy addition to the franchise. If you’re able to see the stage production, I highly recommend seeing the magic that is Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
(featured image: Netflix)
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