Complete Cast Announced for Year Two of STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW
Tony nominee Louis McCartney will play his final performance on Sunday, March 15.
By: Nicole Rosky Feb. 20, 2026
Full casting for Year 2 of the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Joining the previously announced Victor de Paula Rocha as “Henry Creel,” Ayana Cymone as “Patty Newby,” Shea Grant as “Joyce Maldonado,” Juan Carlos as “Bob Newby,” and Matthew Erick White as “James Hopper, Jr.” will be Justin Adams (Broadway Debut), Ben Ashcraft (Broadway Debut) as “Alan Munson,” Rosie Benton (Patriots) as “Virginia Creel,” Janie Brookshire (The Philanthropist), Kelsey Anne Brown (Broadway Debut), Malcolm Callender (Broadway Debut), Lia Christina (Broadway Debut) as “Alice Creel,” John Patrick Collins (The Outsiders) as “Lonnie Byers,” Antoinette Comer (Mamma Mia!), Robert T. Cunningham (Broadway Debut) as “Charles Sinclair,” Tom D’Agustino (Apple TV+’s “Dear Edward”), Dora Dolphin (Broadway Debut) as “Karen Childress,” Nya Garner (Broadway Debut), Jennie Harney-Fleming (Hamilton) as “Patty’s Mom,” Andrew Hovelson (Lucky Guy) as “Principal Newby,” Rebecca Hurd (Broadway Debut), Thatcher Jacobs(Broadway Debut) as “Walter Henderson,” Keller Kennedy (Broadway Debut), Ted Koch (To Kill a Mockingbird) as “Chief Hopper,” Patrick Scott McDermott (Flying Over Sunset), Sean Mikesh (Broadway Debut), Quinn Nehr (Broadway Debut) as “Ted Wheeler,” Nick Rehberger (Patriots) as “Victor Creel,” Zoe Sage (Broadway Debut) as “Sue Anderson,” Afra Sophia Tully (Broadway Debut) as “Claudia Yount,” Stephen Wattrus (Take Me Out), Maya West (Broadway Debut), Francesca Yhlen (Broadway Debut) as “Alice Creel,” and John Zdrojeski (The Great Gatsby) as “Dr. Brenner.”
The full Year 2 cast will begin performances on Tuesday, March 31st at the Marquis Theatre. Tony nominee Louis McCartney will play his final performance on Sunday, March 15. The role of Henry Creel will be played by Victor de Paula Rocha and Ian Dolley until Victor de Paula Rocha assumes the role full time Tuesday, March 31.
Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Kate Trefry, and rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon, Stranger Things: The First Shadow is a new play written by Kate Trefry, directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin.
The most Tony Award-winning play of 2025 and hailed as “best of the year” by Deadline, STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW tells the origin story of Stranger Things villain “Vecna,” aka “Henry Creel.” With the launch of Season 5 on Netflix, demand across Broadway and the West End productions of Stranger Things: The First Shadow saw an almost instant sustained increase in sales, with sales at their highest levels since the initial launch of both productions. Guests not only booked tickets for the traditionally popular holiday weeks, but also for dates into 2026, emphasizing fan excitement. Stranger Things: The First Shadow recently broke the 9-performance house record at the Marquis Theatre with a gross of $2,510,948.00 for the week ending Sunday, December 28, 2025.
The current Broadway cast of Stranger Things: The First Shadow features Rosie Benton (Patriots) as Virginia Creel, Alex Breaux (“Stranger Things” Season 5) as Dr. Brenner, Janie Brookshire (The Philanthropist), Kelsey Anne Brown (Broadway Debut), Malcolm Callender (Broadway Debut), Ta’Rea Campbell (The Hills of California) as Patty’s Mom, Juan Carlos (Broadway Debut) as Bob Newby, Lia Christina (Broadway Debut) as Alice Creel, Antoinette Comer (Mamma Mia!),
Robert T. Cunningham (Broadway Debut) as Charles Sinclair, Ayana Cymone (Broadway Debut) as Sue Anderson, Tom D'Agustino (Apple TV+’s “Dear Edward”), Victor de Paula Rocha (Broadway Debut), Ian Dolley (The Holdovers) as Walter Henderson, Dora Dolphin (Broadway Debut) as Karen Childress, Nya Garner (Broadway Debut), Logan Gould (Netflix’s “The Corps”) as Lonny Byers, Shea Grant (Broadway Debut) as Claudia Yount, Andrew Hovelson (Lucky Guy) as Principal Newby, Rebecca Hurd (Broadway Debut), Alison Jaye (“Shameless”) as Joyce Maldonado, Emmy Award nominee T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Victor Creel, Ted Koch (To Kill a Mockingbird) as Chief Hopper, Jamie Martin Mann (Broadway Debut) as Ted Wheeler, Tony Nominee Louis McCartney as Henry Creel (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, West End), Patrick Scott McDermott (Flying Over Sunset), Sean Mikesh (Broadway Debut), Emmy Award nominee Gabrielle Nevaeh (Nickelodeon’s “That Girl Lay Lay”) as Patty Newby, Burke Swanson (Back to the Future: The Musical) as James Hopper, Jr., Stephen Wattrus (Take Me Out), Maya West (Broadway Debut), Eric Wiegand (Plaza Suite) as Alan Munson, Graham Winton (The Ferryman), and Francesca Yhlen (Broadway Debut) as Alice Creel.
Are monsters born... or made?
In 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, the Creel family seeks a fresh start, especially their teenage son Henry, who is eager to escape his troubled past. Initially, things go well — he finds friendship and joins the school play. But when a wave of shocking crimes strikes the town, Henry is forced to confront a terrifying truth: is there something inside him that connects him to the horrors unfolding around him?
As this thrilling mystery races forward, shadows of the past are unleashed, relationships are tested, and the town of Hawkins faces the ultimate question: can the power of friendship outshine the darkness within?
