Casting is complete for Stranger Things: The First Shadow. The theatrical prequel to the Netflix science fiction-horror series will begin performances at Broadway's Marquis Theatre on March 28 with an official opening set for April 22.
As previously reported, Louis McCartney, who originated the role of Henry Creel in the show in the West End, will reprise his performance on Broadway, with Rosie Benton (Patriots) as Virginia Creel, Alex Breaux (Stranger Things season five) as Dr. Brenner, Nicky Eldridge as Bob Newby, Andrew Hovelson (Lucky Guy) as Principal Newby, Alison Jaye (Shameless) as Joyce Maldonado, Emmy Award nominee T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy) as Victor Creel, Emmy Award nominee Gabrielle Nevaeh (Nickelodeon’s That Girl Lay Lay) as Patty Newby and Burke Swanson (Back to the Future) as James Hopper, Jr.
The new announced cast members are Ta’Rea Campbell (The Hills of California) as Patty’s Mom, Juan Carlos as Bob Newby (replacing the previously announced Nicholas Eldridge), Robert T. Cunningham as Charles Sinclair, Ayana Cymone as Sue Anderson, Ian Dolley (The Holdovers) as Walter Henderson, Dora Dolphin as Karen Childress, Logan Gould as Lonny Byers, Shea Grant as Claudia Yount, Ted Koch (To Kill a Mockingbird) as Chief Hopper, Jamie Martin Mann as Ted Wheeler and Eric Wiegand (Plaza Suite) as Alan Munson.
Rounding out the ensemble are Janie Brookshire, Kelsey Anne Brown, Malcolm Callender, Antoinette Comer, Tom D'Agustino, Victor de Paula Rocha, Nya Garner, Rebecca Hurd, Timothy Lawrence, Patrick Scott McDermott, Stephen Wattrus, Maya West and Graham Winton.
Set 24 years before the events of the first season, the show features younger versions of Stranger Things characters James “Jim” Hopper Jr., Joyce Maldonado and Bob Newby (played by David Harbour, Winona Ryder and Sean Astin in the series).
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. When a wave of shocking crimes strikes the town, Henry is forced to confront a terrifying truth: is there 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?
Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a stand-alone adventure written by Kate Trefry, a staff writer on the Netflix show, from an original story by Trefry, show creators Matt and Ross Duffer and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playwright Jack Thorne. The show had its world premiere in the West End, opening at the Phoenix Theatre on November 17, 2023, where it continues to run. The production won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.