Stranger Things: The First Shadow

Starring: Oscar Lloyd, Isabella Pappas, Michael Jibson, Kemi Awoderu, Christopher Buckley, Florence Guy, Max Harwood, Louis McCartney, Olivia Miller, Matthew Pidgeon, Jessica Rodgers, Calum Ross, Patrick Vaill, Shane Attwool, Chase Brown
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Written by: Kate Trefry
Genre: Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
2023

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Strange things begin happening in Hawkins in 1959, as a new student- Henry Creel arrives in town.

Review:

Tim: I was recently in London and had an open night, so I checked out the new play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. I'm a big fan of the Netflix series and I loved the idea of adapting it to the stage. This prequel story is apparently canon, and it takes place in Hawkins in the 1950s. The cast is filled with familiar characters- they are the parents of the kids from the series. This play might not be required viewing for fans of the series, but it certainly adds additional context.

I would say that's a good summary of this play- I loved the experience of watching it. The visual effects were tremendous. The cast is strong. The music is excellent, especially when you hear that opening song played in a theater. The technical aspects of this play were often astounding. The story was good- The Duffer Brothers played a role in the original story and Kate Trefry does a solid job writing the play. It was interesting and intense. It did feel a little unnecessary. As cool as it is to see these well-established characters in their youth, I'm not sure it was close to essential. We get some added context, but very little else. We see things that we could reasonably expect to have happened. We learn a few things, which is great. However, it never feels critical. I left the play feeling like I was so happy I got to watch this play in London, but it didn't really change much about how I felt about the television series, the characters, or the overall narrative. This isn't all bad, mind you. It felt like an added bonus, and those feel pretty good.

It was very fun to see all these characters that exist more on the periphery of the series take on bigger roles here. Of course, the protagonists are Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers (Maldonaldo here). They're two of the more prominent characters on the show and it felt so exciting to see them really in the limelight here. I thought the actors playing them were perfectly cast- Oscar Lloyd is tremendous as Hopper and Isabella Pappas does fantastic work as Joyce. Here's what stunned me about their performances- they absolutely channeled David Harbour and Winona Ryder, but they also made the roles their own. There were several moments when Lloyd's performance felt like I was watching a young Harbour- his mannerisms, his tone of voice- it was a stunning imitation while refusing to be just a carbon copy. Pappas perfectly captures Joyce's somewhat manic energy, showing us what the character was probably like decades earlier and before some of the big challenges of her life. Christopher Buckley gives a nice performance as Bob Newby, although it's not as effective as his costars. Michael Jibson was so fascinating as Victor Creel. There were moments when his performance was so good that I felt awestruck sitting in the theater. And there were other moments where it felt like was trying way too hard. He gives a mostly strong performance, outside of those unfortunate moments. Shane Attwool did a great job in a smaller role as Hopper's dad. He was certainly memorable on stage. The rest of the cast worked well.

The stagecraft was excellent- they did these wonderful visual effects where they lowered screens that showed projected images. They were just clear enough that a few times, I totally forgot if I was watching live actors or the projected ones. It creates an eerie, atmospheric condition. As I said, the music was excellent. The set design worked exceptionally well and there's a few moments where the scope of the production is truly impressive. One of the standout sequences is the opening number, complete with a shocking shipwreck and ultra-detailed costumes. The lighting throughout the production was fantastic, too. You don't get to see too many horror stage plays. This one was so compelling that I hope we get many more in the future. There were gunshots, explosions, haze and smoke- quite a lot of effects were brought in to tell this ambitious story. The Phoenix Theater in London was certainly a nice venue for this.

I'm really lucky to have had this opportunity to watch Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It was nice to see this in August 2024, during that extremely long break between seasons 4 and 5. This play added interesting context to the overall narrative, and it was a wonderful way to spend several hours. I give director Stephen Daldry a lot of credit for delivering such a memorable theater experience.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Production, We Recommend:
Stranger Things (television), Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (I know you can't see some of these recommendations, this doesn't quite work for theater!)