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‘Stranger Things,’ a Tony winner? ‘The First Shadow’ is coming to Broadway

Matt Duffer, from left, Ross Duffer and Kate Trefry. “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” follows an original story from a team including the Duffers, who created “Stranger Things.” It is penned by “Stranger Things” writer and executive producer Trefry. (BRAD TORCHIA/NETFLIX)
By Ashley Lee Los Angeles Times

The Upside Down is coming to New York City.

“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” will arrive on Broadway in 2025, Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions said Tuesday. The stage show, based on the mythology and world of the hit Netflix series, will begin previews at the Marquis Theatre on March 28 ahead of opening night on April 22, making it eligible for next year’s Tony Awards.

“The First Shadow,” directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin, made its world premiere last fall on London’s West End. The sci-fi/horror spectacle – with illusions design and visual effects by Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher (”Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”), video design and visual effects by 59 Productions and set design by Miriam Buether – won two Olivier Awards and is scheduled to play through at least early 2025.

“We are going to blow people’s minds,” producer Sonia Friedman told the Times last year. “We are going to terrify with some of the most startling, extraordinary things with the physical production.”

The prequel play is set in Hawkins in 1959, and unveils how the show’s fictional Indiana town became a hotbed of supernatural activity. While the story involves some familiar characters – including those played onscreen by Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Sean Astin and Matthew Modine – the plot outlines the origins of Henry Creel, the villain also known as Vecna, who was introduced to TV viewers in Season 4.

“It’s scary like ‘Stranger Things’ is scary,” said playwright Kate Trefry, who has also been a writer on the series since its second season. “There’s a little bit of like guts and gore, and then there’s also real trauma – people dealing with real stuff.”

“The First Shadow,” based on an original story by the series’ creators the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry, was written while Season 4 was in development and has “hints of where it is going to go” in its final season, said Ross Duffer: “I think when (Season) 5 comes together, all of those pieces will hopefully click.” (The Duffer Brothers are creative producers of the stage show, with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen’s 21 Laps Entertainment as associate producer.)

Presale tickets, available to those who sign up on the production’s website, will go on sale at 2 p.m. on Sept. 13; tickets for the general public will go on sale at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17. Casting will be announced at a later date.