'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' wins big at the Tony Awards

The stage adaptation of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things made a big impact at the Tony Awards, winning four awards, including Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, and Best Sound Design of a Play. 

The play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, also received a special award for its impressive illusions and technical effects.

Miriam Buether, the scenic designer for the play, reflected on the experience of creating frightening moments on stage, saying, "We love scaring people." 

The play, directed by Stephen Daldry, was nominated for five Tony Awards in total, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Louis McCartney.

The play is part of the expanding Stranger Things universe, created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. The series has spawned numerous spin-offs, including video games, cosplay, and merchandise licensing deals. 

The TV series itself will conclude with a fifth and final season, split into three parts, with the first part premiering on November 26, 2025.

The play takes audiences back in time to 1959, two decades before the period explored in the TV show. 

It follows Jim Hopper and Joyce Maldonado as high school classmates, until a new student named Henry Creel arrives, holding the future of the small town of Hawkins, Indiana in his hands.

The New York cast includes Burke Swanson as Jim Hopper, Alison Jaye as Joyce Maldonado, and McCartney as Henry Creel. The play made its New York Broadway debut in March 2025 at the Marquis Theatre, after premiering in London in 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre.