Greetings, my dear strangers!
This is Mrs. Strange, and on today’s episode for Stranger Universe, I will talk about the
upcoming Stranger Things stage play, set to debut in London this fall!
It's time to meet Hopper, Joyce, and Vecna before all the drama in Hawkins went down
on Stranger Things season 1.
The cast and preview and opening dates for the London stage production of "Stranger Things:
The First Shadow," a prequel to the Netflix flagship series set in 1959, have been announced.
Previews will start on November 17 at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, and
the official opening is scheduled for December 14.
Rehearsals for this play, written by Kate Telfry and directed by Stephen Daldry, along
with co-director Justin Martin, are currently in progress.
Among its main players are actors cast as younger versions of David Harbour's Jim Hopper,
Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers, Matthew Modine's Dr. Brenner, Sean Astin's Bob Newby, and Jamie
Campbell Bower's Henry Creel, the boy who grows up to become Vecna.
Isabella Pappas will star as Joyce Maldonado, the future mother of Will Byers, who wants
to get the hell out of Hawkins in 1959.
Oscar Lloyd will play James Hopper Junior, whose car won’t start, according to the
stage play’s outline.
His father, played by Shane Attwooll, will also appear as the police chief of Hawkins
during the 1950s.
I guess the job runs in the family!
Christopher Buckley will play Bob Newby, who will run a radio show during this time in
Hawkins.
Patrick Vaill has been cast as a younger Doctor Brenner, whose presence in this story makes
me curious, but also excited because we will get to see more of the relationship between
him and Henry Creel.
Which brings us to our last main cast member: Louis McCartney will play a teenage version
of Henry, the future villain of the series, and the first test subject of Hawkins Lab.
The synopsis for the play reveals that the story will be about the Creel family moving
to Hawkins, and the events that followed in that fateful year of 1959.
Henry Creel is the catalyst of the main events of the series, and kickstarted a chain reaction
that has led to a massive opening to the Upside Down in the spring of 1986, with audiences
now eagerly waiting to see the epic conclusion in Stranger Things 5.
We also have younger versions of the parents and other adults from the iconic Netflix series.
Florence Guy and Gilles Geary will play Karen and Ted Wheeler, the future parents of Mike
and Nancy Wheeler.
It turns out that Karen’s surname is Childress, killing any possibility about her being Alice
Creel like some fans theorized after the events of Stranger Things season 4.
There is also Allen Munson, Eddie’s father played by Max Harwood.
Ella Karina Williams will play Patty Newby, Bob’s sister who might have some sort of
relationship with Henry Creel.
Michael Jibson and Lauren Ward will play Henry’s parents, Victor and Virginia Creel.
Interestingly enough, there is no Alice Creel mentioned in the cast list.
We will also see Lucas’s father, Charles Sinclair, played by Ammar Duffus.
Dustin’s mother, Claudia Henderson, will be played by Maisie Norma Seaton.
There is also a Walter Henderson, played by Calum Ross.
It remains to be seen if Walter is Dustin’s father, although it would be strange if his
parents were married in high school, then again this is the 1950s.
Lonnie Byers will be played by Chase Brown, Matthew Pidgeon will play Father Newby, and
finally, Kemi Awooderu will play Sue Anderson, the only character named with no previous
connection to the current cast of characters in the show.
This huge ensemble of actors are very talented, and whoever cast Isabella Pappas as Joyce
needs a raise because she looks a lot like a younger Winona Ryder.
Expectations seem to be everywhere for the stage play, both good and bad.
Some fans are highly anticipating a prequel set within the world of Stranger Things and
seeing the younger versions of Joyce and Hopper in Hawkins High.
Others think this is a very pointless and unnecessary spinoff, coming out in a complicated
time when the audience is waiting for the fifth and final season of the global phenomenon.
Several comments across social media highlighted that viewers were very confused and unaware
that this was a stage play, with some thinking that these were new cast members for season
5 or that they were replacing the actors on the series.
Crazy times indeed.
In any case, we are 3 months away from the grand premiere in December for this stage
play.
We shall see if it will unlock the key needed for Stranger Things 5 like early teasers seemed
to suggest.
Overall, super exciting times!
And that is all that we have for today!
What are your thoughts on this ensemble for the Stranger Things prequel stage play?
Are you going to fly to London to see The First Shadow live on stage?
Today’s special shout-out is for bahaasch5862!
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This episode was brought to you by Mrs. Strange, and this is Stranger Universe.