STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Reviews- Page 4

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 5/9/25 at 6:12pm

As the only options for a thursday matinee on the week that I'll be in NY are this show or Gatsby I'm in doubt if I waste my time seeing any of it lol

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/16/25 at 4:24pm

I did not care for this. The entire affair is just LOUD. The acting, the writing, the effects... just outright sensory overload in every way under the sun. The second act is more enjoyable than the first, but overall this one is the very definition of theme park entertainment.

[CJRochester]

Posted: 6/4/25 at 10:08pm

I saw the show today. At the end of the curtain call they played the teaser trailer and dates for season 5. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 9:02am

I want to see this but I’m not sure when I can get to NYC. Any chance they keep this running till Season 5 airs?

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 9:07am

MrsSallyAdams said: "I want to see this but I’m not sure when I can get to NYC. Any chance they keep this running till Season 5 airs?"

Hard to predict, but my guess is it will run until 2026 (very deep pockets behind it). So most likely you'll get the chance to see it when season 5 premieres in November.

However, after the season premiere expectation dies (usually it dies pretty soon when it comes to ST) I totally see it closing on Broadway. ST is not on the level of Harry Potter fandom imo

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 10:48am

What’s the best way to get a cheap ticket? I saw this in London and loved the stage craft. I’ve heard it’s just been amplified for broadway so I’d love to see it. 

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 6/5/25 at 11:10am

I think the rush has been pretty easy competitively and I’ve seen some lottery wins. The rear mezz is somewhat overpriced for how far it is. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 3:08pm

Trailer for season 5 just released 

https://youtu.be/iKZyYdwS3Wg?feature=shared

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 5:54pm

The play is garbage, but the show remains one of my favorites. It only took 9 and half years to get 5 seasons! 

[James885]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 6:06pm

Remember when networks made shows with 22-episode seasons? And we’d get a new season every year instead of a 2-3 year gap between short, 8 episode seasons.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 6:19pm

I remember that so well James, a few shows still do that but that's basically a long-gone formula. Like, Im excited that Wednesday is coming back, but I legit barely remember the first season because it's been 3 years. Ridiculous. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 6:46pm

James885 said: "Remember when networks madeshows with 22-episode seasons? And we’d get a new season every year instead of a 2-3 year gap between short, 8 episodeseasons."

Makes me appreciate Only Murders in the Building. It might just be 10-episode seasons, but they've cranked them out every year and they're still consistently high quality.

[BentleyB]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 10:22pm

KevinKlawitter said: "James885 said: "Remember when networks madeshows with 22-episode seasons? And we’d get a new season every year instead of a 2-3 year gap between short, 8 episodeseasons."

Makes me appreciateOnly Murders in the Building. It might just be 10-episode seasons, but they've cranked them out every year and they're still consistently high quality."

If you remember there was a pandemic and an actor strike during these years.   Also, compared to something like Only Murders, Stranger Things and Wednesday have a lot of post production work and special effects to add in.  I would rather have 5 great season over 8 years than a lot of the other things that are horrible produced fairly quickly, like “You.”  The first 2 seasons were great, then it has just spiraled down.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 10:35pm

James885 said: "Remember when networks madeshows with 22-episode seasons? And we’d get a new season every year instead of a 2-3 year gap between short, 8 episodeseasons."

I hear there is a place where that does still happen... it's called... terrestrial networks... SVU is still pumping out 22 episodes a year. 

Shows like Stranger Things are very much an outlier. They're not made to be enjoyed for a long time, they're made to get people to renew the subscription they let lapse. Streaming Services are money pits that arent profitable for anyone but Netflix because they got in at the ground floor. 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 7/16/25 at 11:14pm

It does feel like the fan backlash to the long breaks for shows like Stranger Things, Severance, The Last of Us, etc is helping move things along for some shows. The Bear, The Pitt, Only Murders, Hacks, etc. All acclaimed streaming shows that are on a yearly release schedule (of course Broadcast has been the whole time but most of the zeitgeist shows are on streaming). I think TV is moving back in that direction broadly speaking but it's always going to be hard for the real heavy effects shows. However, it's absurd that Stranger Things premiered during Obama's presidency and is just now entering its fifth season.

[James885]

Posted: 7/17/25 at 1:01am

BentleyB said: Also, compared to something like Only Murders, Stranger Things and Wednesday have a lot of post production work and special effects to add in.

With the exception of the final season, each season of Game of Thrones released on a yearly schedule, so it can be done. 

 

[Blow Gabriel]

Posted: 7/17/25 at 1:09am

This show is absolutely dreadful.  I haven’t hated something this much since Peter Pan goes wrong.  I don’t understand for the life of me how Louis McCartney was nominated for a Tony award?? Most of his performance is him screaming like a girl. Whatever’s left is unintelligible.  Kit Connor gave an exceptional performance in Romeo and Juliet.  Clearly sound acting wasn’t of importance for the Tonys this year.  

[Lot666]

Posted: 7/17/25 at 8:43am

My husband and I loved this and will likely be going back for a second viewing. Louis McCartney was fantastic.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 7/19/25 at 5:00pm

Finally saw this. I agree with many others here. Louis McCartney is heartbreaking. He could play a proper arc if the script would let him. I can spot the issues when I compare it to something like Stephen King’s Carrie. That story gives Carrie’s relationships with her bullies, mother and love interest a set up and a pay off. It builds to a cathartic finale. The First Shadow can’t do that. The set up was in Season four and finale can’t happen till season five. So the play is stuck in the middle. The stage cast doesn’t get to go to the prom.
 

We won’t know till Dec 31, 2025 whether the seeds planted in the script will bloom. And it’s unclear what life the play itself will have after that. Unless they film the closing performance and stream it on Netflix.

Updated On: 7/22/25 at 05:00 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/21/25 at 5:50pm

London production just dropped its closing notice. 25th September 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/21/25 at 5:58pm

rosscoe(au) said: "London production just dropped its closing notice. 25th September"

Is this to make way for part two, or was the whole stage trilogy thing just a rumor?

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/21/25 at 7:36pm

“London production just dropped its closing notice. 25th September”

 

uhh…no it has not. 

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 7/21/25 at 7:48pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "“London production just dropped its closing notice. 25th September”



uhh…no it has not."

That’s so weird. On stage just posted it was closing. 
but now it’s been removed. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 7/23/25 at 8:03am

Husband and I revisited this last Saturday night and liked it even more the second time around. We will likely return again later this year.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 8/22/25 at 7:08am

Haven't watched the show but the name Jack Throne alone is a big red flag. And I was not proven wrong. It feels like one of those run-of-the-mill kinds of storytelling without any focus. There is nothing for the story to latch onto that makes it compelling or transporting. Rather, the play is actively distancing itself from the audience and doesn't let you sit with the characters and see their humanity. I'm not sure whether this is the case for the tv show fans or there is some assumed familiarity, but as a standalone play it leaves an awful lot to be desired. The only joke that was remotely relatable personally was the Oklahoma ones, but when very few people in the theater even care about that joke you know you are probably in the wrong place.