Stranger Things has arrived on Broadway, as Tuesday night marked the opening of Stranger Things: The First Shadow in New York after previously taking over London’s West End.
The show, written by Kate Trefry — who is also a writer on the Netflix series — serves as a prequel to the events on TV; it’s set in Hawkins in 1959, and features the high school versions of characters from the series, including Winona Ryder’s Joyce, Sean Astin’s Bob Newby and David Harbour’s Hopper. Their high school experience is upended by the arrival of a new student, Henry Creel (who was introduced in the last season), as he begins experimenting with newfound powers. Show creators the Duffer Brothers executive produced the stage production, and teased how it will link up with the upcoming fifth and final season of the TV show.
“We were writing season five as this show was being written and going into workshops and all of that, so the main thing we were working on with Kate and [director] Stephen [Daldry] was just making sure that all the mythology lined up, so that when you see the play and see season five, whatever order you see it, it all links and connects,” Ross Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter on the opening night red carpet. “Also that the play starts to tee up things that are going to be big reveals in season five without giving everything away, because we want season five to be able to stand on its own obviously. So it was a tightrope to walk for sure.”
Shawn Levy, who directs and executive produces the series, added, “You’re getting, frankly, a new and more empathetic connection with these characters that you loved but are now going to understand even more,” and mused that “seeing this production in London made me a better director on the final season, because I came back to these characters with a deeper empathy and understanding for them.”
Speaking of that final season, set to arrive on Netflix this year, several of the series cast members were on hand to celebrate the opening, including Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Jamie Campbell Bower, Cara Buono, Matt Modine, Brett Gelman and Priah Ferguson.
Schnapp, who was seeing the play for the first time, teased that “people are going to be truly devastated” when it comes to watching the last season unfold.
“As sad as it was, I’m so excited to see the world’s reaction to watching the finale because there’s not going to be a dry eye, it’s going to be sad,” he continued, joking, “Not to be so negative, it is a really great season and people will love it.”
Ross Duffer also teased of the upcoming episodes, “It’s the end of a long journey, for everyone who made the show and also for those characters. It is thrilling and it’s our fastest start we’ve ever had — our heroes are in action right away, but I think ultimately, hopefully, it’s our most emotional season yet. Those final episodes, the goal is that they hit pretty hard because in a lot of ways it’s about the end of this journey we’ve all had and also the end of childhood.”
Levy looked back on that final day of shooting as both a relief and a goodbye, as “we sort of knew that this was the end of a chapter; we might all go on to great, successful experiences but you’re lucky if you get one Stranger Things in your life. That’ll never happen again and I think we all know it and all cherish it.”
Neha Joy contributed to this report.
#Noah #Schnapp #Fans #Devastated #Stranger #Finale
