‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ Prequel Explained by Broadway Stars (VIDEO)

Ever wonder what life in Hawkins looked like before the events of Stranger Things Season 1? Stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow dives into the town’s history with many of its beloved residents — and their parents — in 1959, when Hawkins encountered a different type of superpowered outcast.

The play follows a teenage Henry Creel, long before he became the Upside Down’s ruler, Vecna, Season 4’s villain, and likely key to the show’s ending. Henry moves from Nevada to Hawkins with his family, hoping for a fresh start after a violent incident involving another child. But soon after enrolling at Hawkins High, strange things start to happen. Henry crosses paths with many familiar faces, such as Joyce Byers (née Maldonado), Jim Hopper, and Bob Newby. As Jim, Joyce, and Bob look into a string of animal killings happening across town, their investigation intertwines with Henry’s dark path.

The play was written by Stranger Things executive producer Kate Trefry and was developed from an original story by series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, writer Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and Trefry. Playing on New York’s Broadway stage and London’s West End, it’s both a stand-alone story and a prequel. You don’t need to have seen one to understand the other, but fans will find plenty of Easter eggs.

The First Shadow has already earned critical acclaim, winning two Olivier Awards and three Tonys. For those who can’t see it live, the storyline reveals surprising insights into the Stranger Things universe. Here are a few. (Get more insight into the Broadway production, which stars an actor who will be seen in Stranger Things‘ final season, in our New York Comic Con 2025 video interview above.)

Henry Before Vecna

Even before he was cast into the Upside Down by Eleven, Henry was a quiet, lonely teen trying to impress his crush, Patty Newby. The play gives him unexpected depth, making it easier to sympathize with him (at least at first). His family — including parents Victor and Virginia and younger sister Alice — moves to Hawkins after Henry blinds a boy in Nevada. But violence follows him, and similar events happen in Indiana, showing his past act wasn’t a one-time accident.

Though he initially tries to resist the evil voices in his head that are corrupting him, Henry is ultimately drawn into a relationship with scientist Dr. Martin Brenner, who manipulates him as his first test subject. Brenner not only exploits Henry’s emotional vulnerability and affection for Patty, but he also indirectly facilitates the Creel family massacre in 1959, which is depicted live onstage. “The crux of [Brenner and Henry’s] relationship is this striving for power, to be a god. And to take control,” says Tony nominee Louis McCartney, who originated the role of Henry in the West End and currently plays him on Broadway.

Meet Patty Newby

The adopted younger sister of Bob Newby (played memorably by Sean Astin in Season 2 of the TV series), Patty is a key part of the play. She’s the first to befriend Henry at school, ultimately forming a romantic relationship with him.

“We get to explore Henry’s nobility, that innocence of falling in love for the first time, that yearning for acceptance, for love,” says Gabrielle Nevaeh, who plays Broadway’s Patty. “[Patty and Henry] have had kind of a rough life, and they’re both broken spirits who are trying to find their way.”

Could Patty ever visit the onscreen Hawkins? While her fate between 1959 and the events of the show is unknown, there’s no doubt of her importance to who Vecna used to be.

The show’s adults all knew Henry

The play does reveal an interesting tidbit in that almost every major adult character from the series knew Vecna as a teen boy, including Hopper, Joyce, and Bob. As those three chase down the source of the town’s mysterious animal deaths, they’re also navigating their teenage love affairs, with Bob crushing on Joyce while she and Hopper attempt to fight their feelings for each other. Turns out their romantic tension dates all the way back to 24 years before we first saw it on our screens.

The parents of Lucas, Will, Dustin, and Mike are there too. All of them went to school with Henry, and each had an impact on him. Will that link be made in the final round? Time will tell. But Burke Swanson, who plays the young Jim Hopper, promises there are connections: “If you want to fully experience Season 5, you have to see the show,” he says. “There are so many world-building moments… I’m telling you, the clues are all there.”

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85

The Stranger Things universe is expanding even further with animated series Tales From ’85. This newest installment, scheduled for 2026, focuses on Hawkins, Indiana, in the winter of 1985 (a pocket of time not covered by the live-action flagship series).

We’ll see characters from the original tackle yet another unearthly mystery while their town is being terrorized by a new batch of monsters, including pumpkin zombies and snow sharks. Showrunner Eric Robles revealed animated ’80s spinoff The Real Ghostbusters was the primary inspiration for the series. The depiction of the characters was inspired by artist Meybis Ruiz Cruz. Tales From ’85 is still in its early stages of production, so no images have been released at the time of print, but we can’t wait to see Hopper wrestling a snow shark.

For an extended celebration of Stranger Things, from a Season 5 preview to must-see photos and more, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Stranger Things: The Final Chapter special issue, available for pre-order online now and on newsstands Friday, November 14.

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