STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Reviews

Vincentelli in NYT is mixed(-to-negative?). No Critic's Pick


‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Review: An Origin Story for the Stage

This Broadway production delivers lots of spectacle as it winds back to the teenage years of Henry Creel, an antagonist from the Netflix series.

"The show starts with the kind of technically demanding, visually ambitious coup de théâtre most productions save for later — think battleship at sea, shrieks of pain and terror and, of course, paranormal dimensions. The director Stephen Daldry and the co-director Justin Martin can’t sustain that intensity for almost three hours, but they sure do try: The production is pitched at 10, except when it’s at 11. Even the scenes involving a school play (“Dark of the Moon,” a real Broadway show from 1945) have a semi-hysterical tone, usually set by the relentless Joyce.

While there are some fun jump scares, they, by nature, come and go quickly. For the most part, the show doesn’t mine the suspenseful, lingering dread that the series effectively deploys to keep you on the edge of your seat."



"A major reason for the success of “Stranger Things” is that you don’t walk away thinking just about battles in parallel realities, but about the emotions and relationships of people who feel very real in a town that also feels very real. It’s grounded in an intimacy and details that are mostly absent here.

In the making-of documentary “Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things the First Shadow,” Trefry (who is also a writer on the series) says that you can’t do a close-up, a montage or a hard cut onstage. The thing is, you can, but it requires resourcefulness and craft that are different from the ones involved in making spiders look realistic or a person fall in slow motion. Because it is locked into an operatic volume, “The First Shadow” never quite finds the grace notes and tonal variations that would bring out the show’s sadness and horror."

Updated On: 4/23/25 at 12:04 AM

Slant

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Review: On Broadway, a Pure-Horror Scale-Up

'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' feels like a dim approximation of what makes the Netflix series so special.

Updated On: 4/23/25 at 12:08 AM

WSJ

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Review: A Streaming Series Takes the Broadway Stage

The popular Netflix show receives a theatrical spinoff that favors visual spectacle over human drama.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/stranger-things-the-first-shadow-review-a-streaming-series-takes-the-broadway-stage-b1ec7e77

The Wrap

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Broadway Review: Netflix Mashes Up With ‘Grease’ and Stephen King

Stephen Daldry’s flashy direction and Kate Trefry’s comic adaptation makes for an oddball jukebox musical

https://www.thewrap.com/stranger-things-broadway-review-netflix/

1 1/2 stars from NYP

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ review: Netflix’s Broadway play is an assault on the senses

https://nypost.com/2025/04/23/entertainment/stranger-things-the-first-shadow-review-netflixs-broadway-play-is-an-assault-on-the-senses/

"The material, screechy and heartless, bares little resemblance to its warm source. Part of what makes the series work, by the way, is the alchemy of its casting. Without the original kids and their 1980s garb and sweet bond, the soul of “Stranger Things” is missing.

What’s mostly left is dumb and Duffer."

NY Daily News/Chicago Tribune

BROADWAY REVIEW: ‘Stranger Things’ is peak fusion of streaming TV and theater

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/04/22/broadway-review-stranger-things-is-peak-fusion-of-streaming-tv-and-theater/

"I’d venture so far as to say here that I’ve never seen this scale of richly realized horror on a Broadway stage before. Most Broadway horror shows (the intentional ones, anyway) end up less than horrifying. This one delivers all the immersive feels, with new illusions and scares flowing at often neck-breaking speed. You feel like you are getting the primordial orange from which Netflix then squeezed five seasons worth of juice.

In an ideal world, I thought while watching, this show would be able to breathe more, let the audience feel and care more and that we all suffered together from diminishing technical returns, especially in Act II. Palpably, no one around me thought the same.

"

Louis McCartney Tony nom for best lead actor in a play incoming?

No.

Sara Holdren nailing it, yet again.

Looking at availability starting next week, this show seems to have sold almost nothing, which is bizarre.

quizking101 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "DTLI Consensus:The enormously popular Netflix brand extension dials the stunning visual spectacle and stage imagery up to Eleven, but leaves all sense ofdramatic cohesion outside the Marquis doors.

7 positive, 5 mixed (including the NYT), 5 negative.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/stranger-things-the-first-shadow/"

1) Whoever writes the consensus, I wish they would put these on the website.

2) Basically a theme park. Cool. I’m going tonight, but nice to know I’m probably going to be bored out of my mind since I’m not familiar with the ST lore and hate spectacle over substance"

I myself think of what to write / pun on for each Broadway show's consensus, inspired by those one-sentence movie consensuses on Rotten Tomatoes. Glad you enjoy it :)

Updated On: 4/23/25 at 10:01 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "Looking at availability starting next week, this show seems to have sold almost nothing, which is bizarre."

I sat on buying tickets over a week out because it was mostly unsold when I looked. Two days later, half the stock was unavailable. A day after that, even less; to the point that I had to bite the bullet and purchase online instead of going right to the box office to avoid fees like I wanted. There’s almost no predicting how ticket sales work these days, and they’ve definitely been holding back a lot of stock for TKTS and official third-party sellers as dates get closer.

Updated On: 4/23/25 at 12:35 PM