As a long time fan of Stranger Things, I was equal parts excited and cautious for Stranger Things on Broadway. Firstly, plays and musicals have never been my thing. Secondly, Stranger Things has such a huge presence in pop culture and seasons worth of lore. So Stranger Things on Broadway is a tall order if it’s going to satisfy fans but also elevate the story we already know. And I’m here to tell you, this play lives up to the hype and is easily the scariest thing I’ve watched in years.
Stranger Things on Broadway tells the story of Henry creel aka vecna. We’re still in the streets of Hawkins Indiana and there are plenty of familiar faces that pop up from Jim Hopper to Joyce Byers, then known as Joyce Maldonado. But this particular story remains focused on Henry Creel and what led him to become the monster known as Vecna. And what a story it is.
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Without giving too much away, the play offers a new perspective on Henry without necessarily making him a sympathetic character. He’s just a young man with a power within him that he relishes. It only becomes worse when The Mind Flayer essentially knocks at the door of his mind and begs to be let in. And it becomes infinitely complicated when teenage love gets thrown into the mix. Yes, Henry Creel in love. What could go wrong?
Surrounding this younger version of Henry Creel are younger versions of all of the parents that we know from the Netflix series. And everyone from Karen Wheeler to Claudia Henderson presents a younger version of the parents that feel recognizable while also giving a new perspective on who they are in the future. In particular I wanted to note Hopper and Joyce. Even when they were younger there was a spark there that could have changed the entire trajectory of everything that happened on the TV version of this world.
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Even Bob, who we got to see a younger version of and who played a central role in Stranger Things on Broadway, was unapologetically himself and fit within the kind of person we knew him to be in the future. Altogether, all these younger versions of the characters we know acted as this framework around Henry that didn’t change everything we know about the series. It just made me understand the world better and how Henry/Vecna had been in Hawkins longer than we knew.
Then there’s the horror element of it all.
When I say that Stranger Things the Broadway was easily the scariest thing I’ve seen in ages, I want you to understand that this is coming from the perspective of someone who loves horror. It’s extremely hard to freak me out. But there was something to the simplicity of what this play was doing that absolutely terrified me. And believe it or not, it wasn’t even the demogorgons that truly scared me.
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What had me locked in when it came to this play were the practical and simple effects that the show used to transport us into The Upside Down. Also there was this one particular bathroom scene where I didn’t know it was even possible to create something that had movie quality but on stage and in real time. And then there’s The Mind Flayer. This horror element came as a total surprise and left me frozen and panicked because those practical effects made me feel like it was coming for me. Truly, I was ready to bolt.
Lastly, I would expect the long run time of almost 3 hours to freak non-Broadway people out from purchasing tickets. But trust me when I say that it’s worth it. Every single minute of Stranger Things the Broadway is built in such a way that it redefines the Netflix show and makes you look at it through a different and more critical lens. But it still feels familiar enough that it could be something you’d totally watch on Netflix if you had the chance. So if you’re looking for a good scare and something to tide you over til the final season premieres, check out Stranger Things on Broadway.
Stranger Things on Broadway is now playing.
