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Backstage at Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Dec 24, 2025

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“As an actor, it's pretty cool to be a part of something that means this much to this many people and is so indelible." Alex Breaux plays Dr. Brenner in Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway.

“There are Easter eggs littered throughout our show that will show up in season five, and vice versa,” says Breaux, who joined the final installment of the Netflix series as Lt. Robert Akers.

“We made an award ceremony for everybody in the cast—best death, best scream, best laugh, best duo, best costume, best hairstyle, best character creation—all the fun things we have that the audience doesn’t know about that keep us going.”

"I got the award for just being me." Louis McCartney is Henry Creel in Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Rosie Benton, Virginia Creel in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, smiles serenely in her Broadway dressing room.

Benton likes to watch Jeopardy! before getting ready for the show.

Dora Dolphin, who plays Karen Childress, is all smiles in the girls' dressing room ahead of showtime.

"Our fans are nothing if not resourceful," says Shea Grant. "One girl fully made a Claudia costume, to the T, for Halloween—and made an animatronic cat.”

Ayana Cymone, who plays Sue Anderson in Stranger Things: The First Shadow, strikes a playful pose backstage.

Ensemble member Janie Brookshire is caught in a contemplative moment as she gets ready for curtain.

“We all chat, we talk about our days. Girl time!" (L-R): Shea Grant, Ayana Cymone, Maya West, Kelsey Anne Brown, Dora Dolphin and Nya Garner in their dressing room at the Marquis Theatre.

"That was an in-joke with getting to places on time in the middle of the show," says Eric Wiegand (Alan Munson) of the 'Outstanding Performance' medal hanging in his dressing room. "There’s a couple dressers who every month do an award show for who’s getting to their places on time."

“We got some mini Demogorgons.” Patrick Scott McDermott (Bob Newby) shows off his dressing room trinkets.

“I’m really into Audrey Hobert these days. But I do spin the Christmas music,” says ensemble member Neil McCaffrey.

"This is the earliest you've ever been dressed," Ian Dolley (Walter Henderson)'s dressing room cohorts McDermott and McCaffrey tease.

Burke Swanson is James Hopper, Jr. in Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Swanson muses that Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a unique way for fans of the Netflix series to reconnect with the show.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow ensemble member Malcolm Callender keeps it cozy at the wig, hair and makeup station.

"This is Poe. You’ll always find someone at Hope’s WHAM station playing with one of these." Ensemble member Maya West shows off one of Hope's many fidget toys.

Gabrielle Nevaeh, who plays Patty Newby, shares her pre-show ritual: blowing bubbles through a straw.

“I tried to make it bright and fun,” Nevaeh says of her butterfly-patterned dressing room decor.

As part of her pre-show routine, Alison Jaye always does a three-minute plank in her dressing room.

Alison Jaye readies her wig as Joyce Maldonado in Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

A company member's birthday means pre-show cake for everyone backstage.

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