What is Stranger Things: The First Shadow?

My 10-year-old son, William, didn’t need an explanation—he was just thrilled to be going to Broadway and diving back into the Stranger Things universe. “I love Stranger Things,” he said.

But I was nervous. The First Shadow, now playing at New York’s Marquis Theatre after a hit run in London’s West End, isn’t a musical (thank goodness) but a play—though you won’t find that old-fashioned word in the marketing. Even “play” doesn’t quite capture the scale of this production, which feels more like a “Broadway event” or even a “Broadway spectacular.”

It’s nearly three hours of fan service, tracing the origin story of Henry Creel, the troubled boy who becomes one of the show’s major villains (Vecna, as William informed me). By the end, Henry lands in a sinister government lab—fitting, since the play itself feels like a hybrid of theater, a roller coaster, and a haunted house.

I enjoyed it. The direction (by Stephen Daldry) is sharp, the staging inventive, and the acting strong. The first hour was especially gripping, packed with intense sound and visual effects that left me unsettled. By the finale, as a Stranger Things newcomer, I felt a bit lost in the lore and inside jokes—but the spectacle won me over. Spiders, broken limbs, a dug-up dead cat, and levitating actors left me dizzy. Then a massive, tentacled puppet (the Mind Flayer, I’m told) descended from the rafters to menace us. By curtain call, I was on my feet.

That said, I left my critic’s brain at the door. That job went to William, who’s binged the series and could explain Demogorgons, the gate, and the Upside Down. I’ve done this before—once, I turned my daughter into a Vogue Taylor Swift critic. Now it was William’s turn to review Stranger Things.

“I love this!” he shouted after a thrilling prologue where a Navy ship crashes into another dimension and gets attacked by monsters. Don’t assume his enthusiasm was guaranteed—I’ve seen him sit stone-faced through concerts by bands he loves. But The First Shadow had him buzzing, as mesmerized as if he’d seen real telekinesis.

He’d worried it might be too scary. Before the show, he spotted only one other kid his age in the audience, which made him nervous. But despite the screams, blood, and explosions, he handled it fine. One scene where a character’s limbs snap like twigs even struck him as funny (“They switched her with a mannequin,” he explained—a trick I missed).

His critique? “There were a lot of swear words.” He also cringed at some raunchy high school banter and gasped when an actress appeared covered only in fake spiders.

“This wasn’t made with kids in mind,” William said. “It’s a lot of dark stuff.” True. The story hinges on whether young Henry Creel (played brilliantly by Louis McCartney, per William) will turn evil. By the start, he’s already gouged out someone’s eyes—so, yeah, not exactly lighthearted.A classmate at his old school was involved in an incident that forced the Creel family to move to Hawkins, Indiana. While a girl at his new school seems to offer hope for a brighter future, things take a dark turn—more eyes will be gouged, Demogorgons summoned, and pets torn apart.

“The bathroom scene was definitely the scariest,” said William. I won’t spoil it for you.

Broadway is thriving right now, breaking ticket sales records. Bigger clearly means better these days, and that’s the same thinking behind Stranger Things—a show that races forward at full speed and never slows down. It won’t strain your brain or test your patience. It’s pure fun, a wild ride—especially if you’re 10.

William’s final verdict? “Way better than Hamilton and Matilda.” Put that on the poster.