about the show

THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON COMES TO LIFE ONSTAGE IN AN AWARD-WINNING, JAW-DROPPING SPECTACLE

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW astonished the West End, winning the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. Critics hailed it as “a game-changing experience” (Daily Telegraph) that makes the unimaginable real and “takes theatre to the next dimension” (The Observer). From Netflix and multi-award-winning Broadway producer Sonia Friedman Productions, and directed by three-time Tony Award® winner Stephen Daldry alongside Justin Martin, this pulse-racing new adventure will turn Broadway upside down.

Are monsters born… or made?

In 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, the Creel family seeks a fresh start, especially their teenage son Henry, who is eager to escape his troubled past. Initially, things go well — he finds friendship and joins the school play. But when a wave of shocking crimes strikes the town, Henry is forced to confront a terrifying truth: is something inside him that connects him to the horrors unfolding around him?

As this thrilling mystery races forward, shadows of the past are unleashed, relationships are tested, and the town of Hawkins faces the ultimate question: Can the power of friendship outshine the darkness within?

With an incredible cast of 34, this gripping stand-alone adventure will pull you deep into the world of STRANGER THINGS. Experience the heart-pounding excitement of STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW—where suspense and spectacle lurk at every turn.

“Can’t wait to see you nerds in new york!”

Matt & Ross Duffer

Photo credit: Matt and Ross Duffer, Kate Trefry (CR. Brad Torchia/Netflix)

We are beyond excited about Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

Collaborating with the brilliant Stephen Daldry has been nothing short of inspiring, and Kate Trefry has written a play that is at turns surprising, scary, and heartfelt. You will meet endearing new characters, as well as very familiar ones, on a journey into the past that sets the groundwork for the future of Stranger Things. We’re dying to tell you more about the story but won’t – it’s more fun to discover it for yourself.

THE STORY SO FAR…

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More on Stranger Things

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Season 3

It’s 1985 and the summer brings budding romances, the brand-new Starcourt Mall and of course the ever-present threat of danger in Hawkins. Though weakened, the Mind Flayer lives on and begins to create an army of human hosts. Meanwhile the new mall is actually built on top of a Russian operation to access the gate to the Upside Down. As Joyce and Hopper look to take care of things below, we see Eleven and her friends take on the Mind Flayer above. In the end they may win the Battle of Starcourt, but it’s not without loss…

Play Recap

Season 4

It’s 1986 and six months after the Battle of Starcourt. There are a series of horrifying murders ravaging the town. Eddie Munson, the town freak, is the prime suspect, but there is a much more sinister origin with a connection to a similar case involving the Creel Family in 1959. With the fate of Hawkins and the world at risk, our heroes look to solve this gruesome mystery and ultimately discover that Vecna, an evolution of the original Hawkins Lab test subject, Henry Creel himself, has been behind it all with a greater plan to end the world as we know it by merging the Upside Down with our dimension. It’s the beginning of the end, but first we must understand how it all started 27 years earlier…

Play Trailer

Season 1

It’s 1983 and a young boy, Will, disappears without a trace. As his friends, his mother – Joyce – and the police chief – Jim Hopper – search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top secret experiments led by Dr. Brenner at a local lab, a gate to another world known as the Upside Down, and one very strange little girl with otherworldly powers known only by a number: Eleven. While the young boy is ultimately saved, a connection between the Upside Down still remains and the story is just beginning…

Play Recap

Season 2

It’s 1984 and a bigger, more sinister entity known as the Mind Flayer is uncovered. A possessed Will in addition to new terrifying creatures coming from the Upside Down are a threat to the town, and our heroes must fight from all sides. Joyce, alongside her new boyfriend Bob Newby and Hopper, bring Will to Hawkins Lab to be treated. Meanwhile Eleven has discovered another number like her and learns more about her powers. Eleven ultimately returns to Hawkins and is able to close the gate to the Upside Down, seemingly vanquishing the Mind Flayer, but while everyone is celebrating, we see it’s too good to be true…

Play Recap

Season 3

It’s 1985 and the summer brings budding romances, the brand-new Starcourt Mall and of course the ever-present threat of danger in Hawkins. Though weakened, the Mind Flayer lives on and begins to create an army of human hosts. Meanwhile the new mall is actually built on top of a Russian operation to access the gate to the Upside Down. As Joyce and Hopper look to take care of things below, we see Eleven and her friends take on the Mind Flayer above. In the end they may win the Battle of Starcourt, but it’s not without loss…

Play Recap

Season 4

It’s 1986 and six months after the Battle of Starcourt. There are a series of horrifying murders ravaging the town. Eddie Munson, the town freak, is the prime suspect, but there is a much more sinister origin with a connection to a similar case involving the Creel Family in 1959. With the fate of Hawkins and the world at risk, our heroes look to solve this gruesome mystery and ultimately discover that Vecna, an evolution of the original Hawkins Lab test subject, Henry Creel himself, has been behind it all with a greater plan to end the world as we know it by merging the Upside Down with our dimension. It’s the beginning of the end, but first we must understand how it all started 27 years earlier…

Play Trailer

Season 1

It’s 1983 and a young boy, Will, disappears without a trace. As his friends, his mother – Joyce – and the police chief – Jim Hopper – search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top secret experiments led by Dr. Brenner at a local lab, a gate to another world known as the Upside Down, and one very strange little girl with otherworldly powers known only by a number: Eleven. While the young boy is ultimately saved, a connection between the Upside Down still remains and the story is just beginning…

Play Recap

Season 2

It’s 1984 and a bigger, more sinister entity known as the Mind Flayer is uncovered. A possessed Will in addition to new terrifying creatures coming from the Upside Down are a threat to the town, and our heroes must fight from all sides. Joyce, alongside her new boyfriend Bob Newby and Hopper, bring Will to Hawkins Lab to be treated. Meanwhile Eleven has discovered another number like her and learns more about her powers. Eleven ultimately returns to Hawkins and is able to close the gate to the Upside Down, seemingly vanquishing the Mind Flayer, but while everyone is celebrating, we see it’s too good to be true…

Play Recap