Stranger Things: The First Shadow has officially arrived on Broadway, offering audiences a deeper dive into the world of the popular Netflix show. This spin-off play delves into the backstory of Hawkins, circa 1959, and explores Henry Creel’s origin story, shedding light on his transformation into the menacing Vecna, a pivotal character in the Duffer Brothers’ series.

In a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the team discussed the evolution of the play in tandem with the production of Stranger Things‘ final season. They highlighted the challenges of balancing the play’s narrative with the upcoming season, ensuring that it serves as a bridge between the two without spoiling the experience for viewers.

Ross Duffer noted that the play was designed to be in communication with season four and set the stage for season five. “It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “I think it informs season five if you’ve seen the play and then watch season five, but at the same time, if you’re seeing the play after you’ve seen season five, it’ll probably play a little bit differently.” Duffer also mentioned that the documentary Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things The First Shadow, now streaming on Netflix, provides insight into the process of finding this balance.

“We’re trying to figure out how much information to put in this play because we don’t want to ruin the season five experience for anyone, and we don’t want people to feel left out that are unable to get to New York or to London,” he explained. “But at the same time, we want the play to be meaningful and to play a role, so I think finding that balance took a while to find exactly what that balance is, but we’re pretty happy with where it is now.”

The creative team emphasized that Stranger Things: The First Shadow is designed to stand alone, allowing audiences to enjoy it without prior knowledge of the Netflix series. However, Kate Trefry, a series writer and playwright for The First Shadow, revealed that working on the play and season five simultaneously presented challenges. “I was working on writing the play and writing season five at the same time, and so they’re to me like just two pieces of a whole, and they’re inextricable from each other,” Trefry said. “I think that the experience of consuming both together is going to be really fun and satisfying to see how connected they are.”

Ross Duffer confirmed that the finale of season five had an impact on the final product of the play. “I think part of the challenge was what you’re seeing in that play is, like, we and Kate were doing season five, but at a certain point, she was just here doing this while we were filming,” he explained. “And then we were working on finale stuff, and as Matt and I were doing the finale, stuff was changed. Everything was evolving in real time, and I think that’s what made it the biggest challenge, because as we got to script, we realized certain story points, we needed to change things, and that affected the play, but they were in the middle of doing the play. So things just kept – it was very close because the timing was like a few weeks before the play opened.”

Watch the creative team behind the hit Netflix series talk Stranger Things: The First Shadow below:

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