“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” has been runnin’ up that road, runnin’ up that hill for months on Broadway.
Surprised observers feel like they’re in the Upside Down.
Wasn’t the play based on the Netflix series and produced by the streaming giant and Sonia Friedman Productions supposed to be a massive hit?
Not so much.
Last week, “First Shadow,” which only landed on Broadway in late March, played to just 75% capacity. The seven days before that? 65%.
For a production of this scale, a musical-size undertaking that was reportedly supposed to be the first part of a planned trilogy, there might as well be Eleven people in the audience.
It’s among the lowest-attended shows on Broadway.
And across the pond, too.
In London’s West End where the prequel show started, the fun musical “Buena Vista Social Club” is said to be snapping up its theater, the Phoenix, if “First Shadow” sales don’t perk up soon.
What Netflix spent on their flashy boondoggle is unknown. One source called the endeavor “a rounding error” for the company that casually dropped $320 million on the movie “The Electric State,” one of the most expensive — and worst! — films ever.
But most Broadway insiders with budgeting experience agree “First Shadow” costs at least $1 million per week to run. And it has only cleared that bar once in the past three months.
The Post has reached out to the production to ask what, exactly, the goal of keeping this show open is.
The pipe dream, a source said, is that the final batch of TV episodes, which begin dropping on Netflix Nov. 26, will right the ship — and this pricey play actually includes an enormous ship.
“Everyone’s holding onto hope that the new season drives ticket sales,” they said.
That’s no sure thing, however. While “Stranger Things” is a behemoth on the small screen, that has not proven true far away from the comfort of the remote control.
“It seems like Netflix is finding that high viewership doesn’t always equal demand for lateral content, merchandise and experiences,” a source familiar with Netflix’s “Stranger” efforts said.
They called another multi-million-dollar live event, “Stranger Things: The Experience,” “a flop.”
That three-year-old immersive show has played in 10 cities and has struggled to find an audience. Netflix also had to redo the final scene mid-run after the TV series introduced villainous Vecna.
The source chalked up the streamer’s woes to bad planning and anticipation.
“Ask your niece and nephew what they want for Christmas,” they said. “The shelves are stocked with ‘Stranger Things’ collabs and nothing from Netflix’s big 2025 hit ‘KPop Demon Hunters’.”
Animated musical “Demon Hunters” is Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time.
Whether Little Billy and Sally will also want tickets to Broadway’s “Things” under the tree once Season 5 begins is anyone’s guess.
In the realm of Broadway fantasy, the kids of “Stranger Things” are eyeing the kids of “Harry Potter” with green envy.
Because, well, Hogwarts actually has some green.
That wondrous hit, also produced by Friedman alongside Colin Callender, has been playing at the Lyric Theater for seven years now and won the Tony Award for Best Play back in 2018. “Cursed Child” got great reviews; dismal “First Shadow” caused critics to curse.
And “Potter” just got a big shot of pumpkin juice.
Tom Felton, the 38-year-old Brit who played Draco Malfoy in the eight popular films, has joined the cast in the same role he played onscreen in that $7.7 billion Hollywood franchise. And sales have shot up like a Nimbus 2000 broomstick.
The advance, a source said, is more than $30 million.
Vecna must be vexed.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
