Polygon.com / 29.04.25

Broadway's Stranger Things: The First Shadow made me like Stranger Things again

I have a love-hate relationship with Stranger Things. Like many of my friends, I was fully charmed by the first season, but each subsequent season has filled me with growing frustration. The series touches on so many elements that cater to me specifically, like coming-of-age narratives threaded in with supernatural hijinks. But as Stranger Things scope has grown, all that good stuff has been buried by extra plot elements and increasingly puzzling character directions.  So I went into the Broadway prequel Stranger Things: The First Shadow doubting that Id enjoy it. After all, is a prequel about Henry Creel, the boy who would become Vecna, really necessary? Id heard good things about the stage shows special effects, but I wasnt sure that was enough to melt my frosty feelings toward Stranger Things. But against all odds, Stranger Things: The First Shadow totally pulled me in. As advertised, the special effects are pretty damn spectacular, but The First Shadow also captures the charm and...
Read more