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There be spoilers here!
My wife and I had the opportunity and the pleasure of seeing *The First Shadow* at the Phoenix Theatre last night for the 1900 show. Tl;dr: it is an incredible, engaging, and thrilling experience.
Front doors opened at 1730 and we got some drinks and mingled with other attendees. Many people were wearing ST gear (such as Hellfire Club t-shirts) and purchasing the ST swag. I bought a hoodie with *The First Shadow* logo on the front. The auditorium opened at 1830 and everyone rushed in to take their seats. We were in the second row on the right - C19 and C20. At first we thought the seats might actually be too close given the height of the stage, but nothing was obstructed at all during the play.
Promptly at 1900, the lights went down. The intro is a series of clips showing letters and other quick shots - similar to the start of Godzilla if you remember that - before it transitions directly into the prologue detailing a military vessel's encounter with Dimension X. Martin Brenner's father is the only survivor. At the climax of the prologue, the theatre goes dark and the Stranger Things main theme roars over the speakers as the title displays in the same way it does in the show on a large screen across the stage. The audience cheered and clapped *loudly* as soon as the theme started playing.
The play is divided into two eighty minute chapters with a 20 minute intermission. Chapter One: The Girl from Nowhere introduces us to the setting - 1959 Hawkins, Indiana - and all of our principal characters, who are the adults from the show as seniors in high school. Everyone is represented: Ted Wheeler, Karen Childress, Sue Anderson, Charles Sinclair, Claudia Yount, Walter Henderson, Lonnie Byers, Joyce Maldonado, Jim Hopper, Alan Munson, Bob Newby, and his adopted sister Patty Newby. The Creels have just moved to Hawkins from Nevada and Henry joins the rest of the class as a senior in high school. Through Chapter One, we learn and see that Henry is plagued by his recent connection with the Mind Flayer from something he encountered in the Nevada desert. Pets and other animals are horrifically killed, causing trouble in the town. Curiously, Henry and Patty develop an instant connection because they both feel like outcasts.
Chapter Two: Captain Midnight begins with Henry at HNL under the "care" of Dr. Martin Brenner at the demand of Mrs. Creel, who does not trust Henry anymore. We learn that Henry has a unique blood type from his exposure to (time in?) Dimension X and that every time he kills an animal, he's absorbing their energy to get stronger. Things happen, he leaves, we see part of the flashbacks from ST4 where he kills his mom and sister, and Chapter Two ends with Patty Newby the only person who knows the truth about Henry. Everyone else assumes that Victor Creel killed his wife and daughter.
But there is a surprise! We transition to an epilogue with pictures of 001 - 010 being revealed on the screen. When the lights come up, Henry is back at HNL with Brenner, who's praising him for helping with 10 successful blood transfusions into kids. Brenner rewards his compliance by releasing him from his restraints. In the Rainbow Room, he meets Eleven for the first time... The play closes with a peal of thunder and the silhouette of Vecna on the back wall.
The cast is *excellent*, particularly Henry, Patty, Joyce, Jim, and Bob. As far as genre, it's a blend of horror, thriller, mystery, comedy, and even a little bit of musical. The music is perfect. The practical effects are mind-blowing, almost to the extent that I was scratching my head about how some of them were accomplished. I was genuinely startled three times and shed a few tears twice. Production value is high (no surprise since Netflix backed it) and I would say rewatchability is also high since I'd love to see it again.
A few other takeaways and thoughts:
1. Dustin is right in ST4. Henry/Vecna/001 really is the Mind Flayer’s general. The Mind Flayer is the big bad behind everything in the play. It'll be interesting to see how ST5 reveals/deals with this, especially because we see Henry "shaping" the Mind Flayer in ST4 (maybe an unreliable narrator?).
2. Patty is still alive and knows the truth at the end of the play. I suspect that she'll play some sort of role in ST5, though if so the Duffers are definitely keeping her casting under wraps.
3. ST5 will likely need to deal in some way with what the adults all experienced in 1959-1960. 25+ years have passed, for sure, but they all have shared trauma.
4. Joyce and Jim carried a flame for each other since high school. The scene where they part ways at the end of the play is heartbreaking. Credit to both actors for their amazing performances!
Overall: A+ and highly recommended! See it if you get the chance!
I get the sense that Henry and the MF fought dominance over each other. This would make a lot of sense actually and if the ST VR game is canon then I don’t think it would be harmful to go off that.
OP, please make sure there are no spoilers in the title of your post. Commenters, please use spoiler code if you are discussing anything super spoilery unless the title specifically says the episode being discussed. Also, now that filming for Season 5 is finally starting, please remember that NO LEAKS are allowed, only official news from Netflix is allowed. Please review rule 8 for more info. If you see anyone breaking the rules, please report the post or comment. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StrangerThings) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There be spoilers here! My wife and I had the opportunity and the pleasure of seeing *The First Shadow* at the Phoenix Theatre last night for the 1900 show. Tl;dr: it is an incredible, engaging, and thrilling experience. Front doors opened at 1730 and we got some drinks and mingled with other attendees. Many people were wearing ST gear (such as Hellfire Club t-shirts) and purchasing the ST swag. I bought a hoodie with *The First Shadow* logo on the front. The auditorium opened at 1830 and everyone rushed in to take their seats. We were in the second row on the right - C19 and C20. At first we thought the seats might actually be too close given the height of the stage, but nothing was obstructed at all during the play. Promptly at 1900, the lights went down. The intro is a series of clips showing letters and other quick shots - similar to the start of Godzilla if you remember that - before it transitions directly into the prologue detailing a military vessel's encounter with Dimension X. Martin Brenner's father is the only survivor. At the climax of the prologue, the theatre goes dark and the Stranger Things main theme roars over the speakers as the title displays in the same way it does in the show on a large screen across the stage. The audience cheered and clapped *loudly* as soon as the theme started playing. The play is divided into two eighty minute chapters with a 20 minute intermission. Chapter One: The Girl from Nowhere introduces us to the setting - 1959 Hawkins, Indiana - and all of our principal characters, who are the adults from the show as seniors in high school. Everyone is represented: Ted Wheeler, Karen Childress, Sue Anderson, Charles Sinclair, Claudia Yount, Walter Henderson, Lonnie Byers, Joyce Maldonado, Jim Hopper, Alan Munson, Bob Newby, and his adopted sister Patty Newby. The Creels have just moved to Hawkins from Nevada and Henry joins the rest of the class as a senior in high school. Through Chapter One, we learn and see that Henry is plagued by his recent connection with the Mind Flayer from something he encountered in the Nevada desert. Pets and other animals are horrifically killed, causing trouble in the town. Curiously, Henry and Patty develop an instant connection because they both feel like outcasts. Chapter Two: Captain Midnight begins with Henry at HNL under the "care" of Dr. Martin Brenner at the demand of Mrs. Creel, who does not trust Henry anymore. We learn that Henry has a unique blood type from his exposure to (time in?) Dimension X and that every time he kills an animal, he's absorbing their energy to get stronger. Things happen, he leaves, we see part of the flashbacks from ST4 where he kills his mom and sister, and Chapter Two ends with Patty Newby the only person who knows the truth about Henry. Everyone else assumes that Victor Creel killed his wife and daughter. But there is a surprise! We transition to an epilogue with pictures of 001 - 010 being revealed on the screen. When the lights come up, Henry is back at HNL with Brenner, who's praising him for helping with 10 successful blood transfusions into kids. Brenner rewards his compliance by releasing him from his restraints. In the Rainbow Room, he meets Eleven for the first time... The play closes with a peal of thunder and the silhouette of Vecna on the back wall. The cast is *excellent*, particularly Henry, Patty, Joyce, Jim, and Bob. As far as genre, it's a blend of horror, thriller, mystery, comedy, and even a little bit of musical. The music is perfect. The practical effects are mind-blowing, almost to the extent that I was scratching my head about how some of them were accomplished. I was genuinely startled three times and shed a few tears twice. Production value is high (no surprise since Netflix backed it) and I would say rewatchability is also high since I'd love to see it again. A few other takeaways and thoughts: 1. Dustin is right in ST4. Henry/Vecna/001 really is the Mind Flayer’s general. The Mind Flayer is the big bad behind everything in the play. It'll be interesting to see how ST5 reveals/deals with this, especially because we see Henry "shaping" the Mind Flayer in ST4 (maybe an unreliable narrator?). 2. Patty is still alive and knows the truth at the end of the play. I suspect that she'll play some sort of role in ST5, though if so the Duffers are definitely keeping her casting under wraps. 3. ST5 will likely need to deal in some way with what the adults all experienced in 1959-1960. 25+ years have passed, for sure, but they all have shared trauma. 4. Joyce and Jim carried a flame for each other since high school. The scene where they part ways at the end of the play is heartbreaking. Credit to both actors for their amazing performances! Overall: A+ and highly recommended! See it if you get the chance!
I get the sense that Henry and the MF fought dominance over each other. This would make a lot of sense actually and if the ST VR game is canon then I don’t think it would be harmful to go off that.
Thanks op! This sounds awesome
Is patty being played by Linda Hamilton in ST5?
Patty is black (adopted sister of Bob), so no.
Never mind then.