Burke Swanson Watched Stranger Things in the Dark, Now He’s Lighting Up Broadway

Life can be strange. Consider: Less than a decade after Burke Swanson first binged Netflix’s sci-fi smash Stranger Things on the couch with his sister, he’s on stage at the Marquis Theatre eight times a week playing James Hopper Jr. in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Set in 1959, the immersive, chilling yet heartfelt origin story follows the students at Hawkins High. Hopper helps investigate a series of animal deaths that leads him straight to the troubled new student, Henry Creel (Tony nominee Louis McCartney). As fans likely know, Henry is future evil Vecna/One; Hopper grows up to be the town’s police chief, played by David Harbour.

“When I told my sister that I got the offer, we just started laughing,” says Swanson, who previously portrayed George McFly in the national tour of Back to the Future: The Musical. “In no way did I ever expect my path to lead me here.” Hours before a Friday night performance, he talked to Broadway.com.

Is it even accurate to refer to Stranger Things: The First Shadow as a play?
I do call it a play because characters are coming on stage to tell a real human story. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen the spectrum of what a play can be. There’s [producer] Sonia Friedman’s other big project with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. There’s Purpose. John Proctor is the Villain. These are unbelievable testaments to the art form. The experience of watching Stranger Things may be totally different than the others, but at its core, it's the same.

Now that you’re deep into your run, what has surprised you the most?
How connected the audience gets with the material. Whether you’re a super-fan or not necessarily super-familiar with the show, you can have an incredible experience. There’s a scene between Henry and Patty [Gabrielle Nevaeh] that takes place in a bathroom. It starts out potentially cute and switches on a dime. I love hearing audiences react like, “Oh no, what have I signed up for?!” They’ve truly come along for a ride.

What was it like for you to see this production come to life?
It’s really humbling to realize that your ensemble exists far past the 34 people on stage every single night. We have one of the best crews on Broadway working backstage making sure all of these things happen. During the tech process, the entire orchestra was a full house of just tables and tables of every single department trying to bring these effects to life. I know the Mind Flayer had to be built in other theaters to make sure that it would even work in here. And if an explosion doesn’t go off, you still have other departments working to make something resonate with the audience.

Let’s talk about Hopper. He’s the tallest student and wears a leather jacket, but he’s not a classic 1950s bully.
Hawkins is really a bunch of individuals who are isolated and loners, either by choice or by society. We have Bob [Patrick Scott McDermott]. We have Patty. We have Henry. We have Joyce [Alison Jaye]. All these people realize that they have something even more beneficial than their own wits and intelligence — they have each other and their community. Hopper wants to be the bully, but he's not. He just doesn't have it in him. He’s too committed to trying to do the right thing. So this person who's been pushing Henry around for most of the first act suddenly finds himself a friend.

What’s it like jumping into a character that almost everybody knows before the first scene? First George McFly, and now this…
What’s really beautiful about George McFly and James Hopper Jr. is that people want to connect with them and celebrate with them and see them figure it out. Grown men who had never seen a musical were standing up and cheering for George! So it's really nice to know that at the end of the day, when I walk out on stage, the audience is with me. We’re not starting from a place of trying to convince them. And what that does for me as an actor is it allows me to really zero in on all of the details that our writer, Kate Trefry, has placed within the text. People are seeing another version of Hopper.

Have you heard from David Harbour at all?
The answer is no. David is traveling the world thanks to Marvel, so I think his schedule is a little packed. But a good number of folks from the TV show came out to the opening night! I'm getting to help explore the seeds that David planted in the TV show. Netflix and Sonia and our directors, Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, were extremely adamant in that we all evoke the spirit of the character within ourselves and not try to repeat what’s already been done. This is an origin story. This is not a prequel. This is not a remake. It’s almost like we’re starting fresh. So in that regard, I look forward to the day when I get to meet David and we just celebrate this character.

The last season of Stranger Things begins in November. Are there any references to it in the show?
Let me tell you! There were many moments during the rehearsal when we’d have to suddenly stop because [Stranger Things creators and executive producers] The Duffer Brothers had just called Justin and Stephen. There would be these little whispers and somebody would say, “OK, we’re going to change that” with no explanation. I know Kate was writing both at the same time, so we are in tandem. It will be exciting to see how it plays out.

What will it be like for you to watch the series at this point?
I’m so looking forward to it along with everyone else! For the first week after the trailer came out, it played at the end of our show. All of us who just spent two hours and 45 minutes working stayed on the stage just to listen to the audience erupt with enthusiasm and excitement. It’s like we remembered that, oh wow, this is what we are. We are part of an incredible story that's been playing for 10 years. And now we are helping to continue that story forward.