Stranger Things: The First Shadow Is One Step Closer to Turning Broadway Upside Down

Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a theatrical prequel to the Netflix ’80s-nostalgia horror series, is one step closer to Broadway. The show, which opened on December 14, 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre in London, is seeking actors and stage managers for a 2025 Broadway transfer, according to an Equity casting notice. Principal auditions will be held in New York City in March. Video submissions are now open for Equity actors and stage managers.

The play is written by Kate Trefry, a staff writer on the Netflix show, from an original story by Trefry, show creators Matt and Ross Duffer and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. It is directed by Tony Award-winning director Stephen Daldry with co-director Justin Martin. As previously reported, the show has been speculated to be the first installment in a theatrical trilogy based on the Netflix franchise.

The story is set 27 years before the events of Stranger Things season one, with the arrival of the Creel family in Hawkins, Indiana, and features young versions of familiar series characters Joyce (played by Winona Ryder), Hopper (David Harbour) and Bob (Sean Astin).

Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach. The official trailer is here.

The West End production of The First Shadow stars Shane Attwooll, Christopher Buckley, Michael Jibson, Oscar Lloyd, Louis McCartney, Isabella Pappas, Patrick Vaill, Lauren Ward and Ella Karuna Williams. The play is produced by Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions with the Duffer Brothers acting as creative producers alongside 21 Laps Entertainment as associate producer.   

The show features set design by Miriam Buether, costume design by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting design by Jon Clark, sound design by Paul Arditti, illusions design and visual effects by Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher, video design and visual effects by 59 Productions, original music and arrangements by D.J. Walde, choreography by Coral Messam, movement direction by Lynne Page and wigs, hair and make-up design by Campbell Young Associates. Props supervision is by Mary Halliday, dialect coaching is by William Conacher and fight direction is by Kev McCurdy.

Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016, becoming one of the streamer’s most popular television series. The series has garnered 57 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with 12 wins. The fifth and final season is set to premiere in 2025.