STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Previews- Page 2

[ajh]

Posted: 3/30/25 at 9:15am

I’d never watched the TV show so my prep for this was just reading an online synopsis of the various seasons - and I was absolutely knocked out. It’s just thrilling theatrical storytelling, involving, inventive and chilling. Some of the effects are stunning and Louis McCartney as Henry Creel delivers a star-making performance. I saw it in London at the Phoenix (a mid-sized house) and I think it may all ‘breathe’ a little better in the Marquis. Such an exciting, occasionally terrifying, piece of theatre.

[60'splayoff]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 10:57am

My goodness drama at the Marquis last night! I had a friend there (+ plenty of reports on IG and Reddit) and apparently the line for the escalators reached 8th avenue and took forever. Hundreds of patrons were held in the lobby while the show started (with little to no communication...) and after the unmissable opening it was chaos in the theatre while the masses tried to find their seats for what some are saying went on for 30mins. Woof.

For this 5/10min before curtain theatre goer, I guess I'll be arriving 45mins before Stranger Things?! 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 10:59am

It’s a massive theater. Sounds like no communication between front of house and back of house if a good chunk of your audience is missing. Maybe the Marquis staff aren’t use to dealing with … all these people… 

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 11:44am

That’s odd. Did people not know it was a 7:30 start time? Did the ticket scanners break down? 

[Kad]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 11:48am

I've seen a number of complaints about it on social media and it definitely seems like there was some issue on the theater's side that caused the delay. If seating was so badly backed up, it is wild to me that the curtain wasn't held.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 12:40pm

I was there! It was so poorly handled. I arrived a little after 7 from the 45th Street side - walk into the hotel and the escalators on that side are both going down. I walk over to the otherside where both escalators are going up, but are blocked by an usher. She tells me there's a line to get in that starts by the box office. I go out to the box office area - empty other than 1 person picking up tickets - and look outside to find a line extending almost all the way down 46th Street. I walk to the end which at that point is just past the Imperial.

The line finally starts moving around 7:10. I finally get in the building and up the escalator around 7:25. TONS of people milling about, and someone yelling "go to the other side" as if anybody understands what that means.

I get in a group that I assumed was people going to the show (why else would they be lined up here???) but I notice many of them have suitcases ... turns out they were actually waiting to check in to the hotel. There were temporary desks and a big HOTEL CHECK IN sign behind the up escalators. So then I was able to figure out that "go to the other side" meant walk AWAY from the theater entrance, around the elevators, and then get in a line to enter the theater that starts at the top of the DOWN escalators.

I get in around 7:33 and figure there's no way they'll start any time soon with the number of people that were behind me ... but no, the show starts at 7:35. After about 10 minutes they let in all the "late" people. They are clogging the aisles (and blocking my view) because there aren't enough ushers to show them where to go and it's dark so they can't see the row/seat numbers or someone took their seats and now those people have to get up and move. Tons of talking. Ushers shining flashlights all over the place. It was so distracting, I could barely pay attention to what was happening on stage.

Kudos to the actors I guess for soldiering on as if nothing was happening but this entire situation was completely unfair to everyone onstage and in the audience.

[KKeller6]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 1:45pm

. Can anyone take a guess why the curtain wasn't held? Take a wild guess. 

[60'splayoff]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 1:49pm

To avoid paying overtime if they exceed a 3 hour runtime

[theatreguy]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 1:50pm

I assume they didn't want to pay overtime to stagehands which I believe starts at 3 hours after the advertised start time (7:30pm in this case). Last night's performance ended a little before 10:30pm.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 1:54pm

That's truly appalling. Not that I really wanted to see the show, but I would never go knowing that they disrespected the audience like this - the ones who lined up on time and were forced to miss the start of the show, and for the audience inside that had to have their experience disturbed on such a large scale. Honestly I'd just give everyone in the audience a partial or full refund. Netflix has the money.

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 9:16pm

As of intermission - it’s a streamlined version of the show from London. I don’t know if it’s as good but it’s still worth seeing. 

Updated On: 4/3/25 at 09:16 PM

[Bobster159]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 9:21pm

theatergoer3 said: "As of intermission - it’s a streamlined version oftheshow from London. I don’t know if it’s as good but it’s still worth seeing."

I'd love to hear your full thoughts after the show. Having seen it in London and finding the staging impressive but the script overlong and indulgent, I'm delighted to hear it's been streamlined. But that assumes they've streamlined the right bits...

[KKeller6]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 10:39pm

60'splayoff said: "To avoid paying overtime if they exceed a 3 hour runtime"

They're going to make millions and millions of dollars and couldn't care less about their audience. All to save a couple of thousand bucks.  Embarrassing. 

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 4/3/25 at 11:19pm

Bobster159 said: "theatergoer3 said: "As of intermission - it’s a streamlined version oftheshow from London. I don’t know if it’s as good but it’s still worth seeing."

I'd love to hear your full thoughts after the show. Having seen it in London and finding the stagingimpressive but the script overlong and indulgent, I'm delighted to hear it's been streamlined. But that assumes they've streamlined the right bits..."

I will say the 2nd act was more similar to the one in London and I preferred it to the first. 

The stagecraft is still excellent with some new tricks along with the expected ones. McCartney is terrific. 

The other teens are good even though I would’ve loved if the originals also could’ve transferred but I understand why that didn’t happen. 

The show ran 2:50 with a 20 min intermission starting at 7:35 which I think accounts for some of the streamlining feeling. Largely the cuts in Act 1 are moments/scenes around the other teens. 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The opening cuts to the Creel’s arriving then right to Henry’s first day. The police station fight is cut. 

The Act 1 climax is also quite different. 

Updated On: 4/3/25 at 11:19 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 4/4/25 at 8:31am

If I missed the start I would have been back to the box office saying swap my tickets to another night. I’m never late, always early, can’t stand delays when companies are unorganized. 

[Bobster159]

Posted: 4/4/25 at 8:45am

rosscoe(au) said: "If I missed the start I would have beenback to the box office saying swapmy tickets to another night. I’m never late, always early, can’t stand delays when companies are unorganized."

If you miss the first five minutes of this one, you've missed one of the best bits... I'd be livid, too.

Thanks for the comments theatergoer3. The scenes that followed the opening in London were the first I'd have cut, so I'm glad to hear they have.

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 4/4/25 at 4:29pm

Two updates 

There will be a screening of the documentary followed by talkback with the creative team at the Paris on the 21st through 92Y. 

According to Reddit, the hotel may have been the main cause behind Wednesday’s incident and the house will now open 45 min early (as it did last night). 

Updated On: 4/4/25 at 04:29 PM

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/9/25 at 8:20am

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’: What to Know About the Broadway Show

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/theater/stranger-things-first-shadow-broadway.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-U4.FhPa.D5saTbKB1R0o&smid=nytcore-android-share

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 4/13/25 at 11:21am

I’m a big sucker for great design and effects so I decided to see this despite only watching the first two seasons of the show and remembering very little from that.  I was a big fan of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the magic, design, and staging of that production, so I was looking forward to this.  Sorry to say I left quite disappointed.  Despite a handful of very cool effects, the play itself is quite thin.  The characters are paper thin and the plot somehow thinner.  It’s hard to even judge the performances because nobody gets to do much except for Louis McCartney.  He does a great job with the moments of extreme physicality with many “seizure-like” or “demon possession” moments, but it’s hard to care about the character.

The play starts off incredibly strong with an absolutely thrilling opening into the opening credits, but then it mostly peters off from there.  The production promises something thrilling right away and fails to deliver on them except for two stellar moments in act 2.  A few jump scares and creepy moments are fun and keep you on the edge of your seat, but then it feels like there’s little payoff.

Most of the effects and scenic elements are achieved using projections. The projections are well-done and definitely better than Boop and Smash, but I was expecting more of the hand-crafted theatrical magic of Harry Potter instead of the digital realm.  The staging at the climax is thrilling though but doesn’t really resolve into anything.  The big moment happens and there are two scenes clumsily tacked onto the end with little to no resolve, and then it ends.  It just felt lazy to me. 

And the final moment before curtain call with the “credits” is tacky as hell and really left a sour taste in my mouth.  This really feels like a theme park experience rather than an actual play.  

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 8:53am

Netflix has released a documentary following rehearsals for the London production. The playwright is candid about the stress of rehearsals, previews and rewrites. It makes the play look exciting. But it’s a safe film overall. I doubt a theatrical producer will allow something as raw as the Company Cast Album documentary any time soon

[ColdClimateDude]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 11:03pm

Does anyone know how the view is from the last few rows of the Orchestra?  Either side?  Looking ahead and trying to plan a trip and View from My Seat doesn't make it seem like these are too bad for sightlines.

Thank you!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 11:08pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "Netflix has released a documentary following rehearsals for the London production. The playwright is candid about the stress of rehearsals, previews and rewrites. It makes the play look exciting. But it’s a safe film overall. I doubt a theatrical producer will allow something as raw as the Company Cast Album documentary any time soon"

I never took Sonia Friedman as a smoker!

[Sauja]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 11:17pm

ColdClimateDude said: "Does anyone know how the view is from the last few rows of the Orchestra? Either side? Looking ahead and trying to plan a trip and View from My Seat doesn't make it seem like these are too bad for sightlines.

Thank you!"

I saw it from Row V and had a very clear, if slightly distant view. Nothing blocked by the mezz overhang. 
 

as for the show, I’ll echo many. There are some truly impressive technical feats, but it’s not an especially great play. Admittedly, I have only seen the first season of the show, so a deeper knowledge of the series and its world may have helped. I had a pleasant time and thought the staging was really cool.  It’s just that the material itself didn’t do a ton for me. The less said about the play-within-a-play high school show, the better.

[ColdClimateDude]

Posted: 4/16/25 at 12:16am

Thank you so much for the review (of the seat and the show!)  I also am behind on the show which is giving me pause...but I think the theatricality of it will win out and convince my group to go :)

Again, thank you :)

[rburton66]

Posted: 4/16/25 at 6:48pm

It’s fun! The sort of amusement-park-ride-as-Broadway-show that Back to the Future wished it was. Just buckle in for loads of fan service. It’d be a dangerous drinking game to swig every time the audience oohs and ahhs because something connected to the TV show gets introduced.

Updated On: 4/16/25 at 06:48 PM