The final season of Stranger Things may be airing this year but, if the New York Comic Con panel for its Broadway adaptation proves anything, it’s that fans can’t get enough of tales from The Upside Down.
Hosted by Kaisha Huguley, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow – Bringing Iconic Characters & the World of the Upside Down to Life on Stage” brought together four of its leads in front of a packed audience. With The First Shadow taking place years before the Stranger Things TV show, the cast discussed what it was like portraying younger versions of characters we’ve seen and how the show aims to bring magic to audience members.
Though a prequel, The First Shadow still takes place in Stranger Things’ main setting of Hawkins, Indiana. Because of this, audiences will see teenage versions of many familiar characters. Burke Swanson currently portrays Jim Hopper, who, in this story, is far from being the rugged police chief we know and love.
Swanson shared that he first started watching the show in 2016, and coming into his portrayal of a younger version, he already had an appreciation for the character.
“No one wants to come and see an impersonation on stage,” Swanson noted when talking about how the opportunity allowed him to bring his unique artistic sensibility to the character. “This being an origin story 30 years prior–Hopper hasn’t been to Vietnam. Hopper doesn’t have a kid yet. Hopper hasn’t been an undercover cop yet. You know, there’s lots of things in his life, as an adult, that [he has] not experienced.”
Cast member Alex Breaux echoed Swanson’s response in how the prequel’s past setting allowed him to explore different aspects of his character. In First Shadow, Breaux portrays Dr. Martin Brenner, who we find in Stranger Things as a very sinister scientist.
“Matthew Modine has such an elegance,” Breaux said when talking about the actor who portrays the older version of his character in Stranger Things. “[In playing] Dr. Brenner, there was a meditation on the stage of life and growth [that] we all go through. I was wondering, in the TV show, how we arrive at such a put together man? What mistakes, led to experience, that led to that kind of pristine image? So I’m trying to try to find some baser instincts. Some more chaotic energy. Maybe this is a younger man not as in control of his emotions.”
A character in The First Shadow certainly facing a struggle with control of their emotions is Henry Creel, a young man whose psychic abilities will one day transform him into Stranger Things’ antagonist Vecna.
In the play, Henry is portrayed by Louis McCartney. This actually isn’t the first time McCartney has portrayed the character, as he was a part of the original cast when the show made its London production debut.
“I try to tell as many people as possible. It’s very fun,” he said when talking about how playing an emotionally exhausting character could have an impact on his personal life. “[I take] it very seriously. But when [I] go home I’m still Louis. I’m not going to take Henry home or else, you know, who knows what could happen.”
Not all of the cast are playing younger versions of characters that appear in Stranger Things. Gabrielle Nevaeh portrays Patty Newby, whose last name might ring a bell if you’re familiar with the TV show.
In The First Shadow, Patty is a school mate of Henry Creel, who ultimately befriends him, and the two end up forming a strong bond. When it comes to the hardest part of playing Patty, Nevaeh said the physicality of the role is challenging. The stage has three turntables that move in different directions that the actors have to perform on throughout the show. Nevaeh compared this to acting on a treadmill, so learning how to walk on them and focusing on her breath control was important for her.
“Oftentimes I have to go from screaming, to speaking dialog, to singing, back to screaming. A lot of vocal agility. So, learning how to take care of my body, my voice, my mind, my spirit. It’s a very dark show—I like to think that I’m a very happy person,” Nevaeh said. “So, learning how to take care of the mental you know. I want to leave Patty at the theater. She deals with a lot of heavy themes. So, I go home and I watch Friends or I watch Bluey.”
The First Shadow not only has the emotional character beats fans Stranger Things would expect, but also thrilling special effects. During the panel, McCartney stressed that everything in the stage show was thoughtfully put in to satisfy the audience.
“Stranger Things on stage could easily be a gimmick. You know?” he said. “We strive to create honestly through our work. We give something that people will go home and remember. That they will think ‘How the hell did they do that?’ Because we are redefining what it means to put a play on stage every single night, and we do it sometimes with a bit of failure. The technical stuff does fail. But when it does fail people love it! At the end of the day, we’re just making magic.”
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from NYCC ’25.
