Stranger Things: The First Shadow - Phoenix

I've seen it 8 times personally! Really enjoy this show, though I do think the cast is getting fatigued. In particular, some accents that were flawless in months 1-3 are now very noticeably not American. Looking forward to hearing about a new cast this autumn, as much as this one has blown it out of the water! 

I still love and recommend it, I'm just surprised they don't have a dialect coach on staff to keep the company fresh with their accents, especially considering that this thing is funded by SFP and Netflix.

Apologies if this has already been discussed but I am thinking of booking tickets to this. Is Dress Circle preferable to the Stalls for this one for the overall effect? Looking at centre of Row D in both stalls and dress and can't decide!

Also, when is the cast changing?

Wonder what the future holds for this one now a Broadway run has officially been confirmed. Feel like it brought over a lot of American tourists, but regardless it has been selling really well according to reports. Presume this will prompt the cast change, with a few heading across the pond.

Has there been any updates on the other two prequels? Intrigued by them both.

Made a return visit to this tonight and enjoyed it as much as the first time.

My big issue was the fact that sitting in the Dress Circle was like sitting inside an oven. The fans they wheeled out at the start and for the interval made very little difference. Also spent the whole time with a binoculars holder jammed into my leg due to the severe lack of legroom.

Other than that, a great night!

I've sat on front row on Wicked, 3rd row on BTTF and front row on Stranger things.

BTTF is not great but even at 6.3" I struggled to see people below the knee on stage for Stranger things.
You definitely don't want the 2 most outer seats. In fact, the girls sitting there left. I was i the 3rd seat from left and I could see the whole stage, they couldn't.

So unless you're 6.6" or taller, I'd try to get a seat further back.

If you can get a cheaper ticket in the front row, then I would definitely take it - I won the lottery last year and sat there for my first time and it was fine. You miss a couple of things but it's worth the lower price.

Stalls B11 front row on the center aisle right is a great place to see this show – stage height will cut off waist down if people are back of stage but most of this show is up front or on raised staging and was only really an issue on one short scene where they are sitting on chairs. It seemed to affect you more as you go down the row to the sides, but they sell the first four either side now instead of being rush. Seat was £70 which was about £50 less than person behind me and after months of deliberating and reading about the low rake on all levels and spoiled view if tall person sits in front of you, took the chance on this seat and it worked out great and the many benefits of being up-close more than outweighed any slight downsides of view – even the stage smoke was not an issue.

Effects are a good mix of modern tech and old school stage magic, and the show is a great fit for the Phoenix and its art deco style, the movie posters lining the walls of the foyers are a nice touch. I enjoyed the show overall but it’s an odd mix of acting styles and tone and the humor didn’t always work that well, but things move at a fair pace, so no scene hangs around too long. Works well enough as a standalone play as well as part of the Stranger Things storyline.

It will be interesting to see if the Broadway version is a carbon copy or revamped version. If you do see it hopefully you will get Louis McCartney as Henry Creel who gives a superb performance, easily the standout performance even given his central role but in his first stage role he owns the stage and one to look out for in the future.

While I have watched the TV show so knew the baseline story, I am sure I missed the tons of easter eggs and details for the devoted fans but it seemed pretty watchable even if you didn’t know the show and it’s only the small coda to patch to the current show which could leave people unsure. Main fun comes from seeing the older TV characters as teenagers even then bit odd as young Hooper looks like the Steve character in the TV show. Needs to carry a warning that devoted feline lovers should avoid this show, other than that it seemed to attract a wide age band.

Worth noting that the new Phoenix front foyer is open during the day as a bar and coffee drop in and is currently a quiet place to have a break. Alongside the box office and bar, you can also buy the show merchandise if you realize you really do need that Demogorgon T-shirt you talked yourself out off the night of the show.

Did Lauren Ward ever say why she left this production?

Enjoyed this last night and a lot of energy from the cast considering they’re approaching a year in the role. Patrick Vaill & Alex Young both off last night but excellent understudies - especially Mark Hammersley as Dr Brenner!

All of the cast capture the essence of the characters from the show but give their own fresh take. Recommended for both fans and those completely new to Stranger Things!

I saw Patrick (supporting Anoushka and Stavros I'm assuming) at Face In the Crowd last night!

Agreed, it's a really fun show that I've happily seen twice now - particularly good cast, set design, and great set pieces -  but I think it was Gilles Geary on as Dr Brenner this week, if I'm not mistaken?