Interview: Burke Swanson Is Living a Strangely Awesome Dream

Hawkins, Indiana is a place not so far away this spring. Just last month, Stranger Things: The First Shadow opened at the Marquis Theatre, turning Broadway upside down for a season full of mystery, illusion, and of course... demogorgons. 

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?

Burke Swanson is along for the ride as 'James Hopper Jr.', the teenage counterpart to the character made famous by David Harbour on the Netflix series. Fresh off his run as 'George McFly' in the first national tour of Back to the Future, Swanson returns to Broadway after making his debut in the 2019 revival of The Rose Tattoo. Burke just checked in with BroadwayWorld to tell us all about his new gig and why he is living out his dream in one of the most buzzed-about new shows on Broadway.

Burke, I saw the show last week and I am still overwhelmed. There was so much to take in!

I think it's one of those shows that in many ways demands you to come back again and again because there's so much happening. There's been so much detail and care to attention put within this piece. On top of the fact that we've got like an entire small town of humans on stage at any given moment! 34 people swings, understudies, covers all on stage every single night. So there's a lot to see. 

Are you still reeling from opening night? 

Oh, 100%. I mean, it was such a moment of celebration of joy for all of us. We've been putting in so much hard work over the last couple of months. And to finally bring it to audiences has just been so fantastic. I mean, they're sort of the final key, right?

So take me back a little bit. When did you find out that you were cast and what were the early days in the rehearsal room like?  

I found out that I got cast while I was playing 'George McFly' out on the road for Back to the Future. I thought there was no way I'd ever be considered for this. I had a chance to come and do an in-person callback with them on one of my only days off while we were traveling and the room itself ended up being so many ways indicative of what the rehearsal process was going to be like. Justin Martin and Stephen Daldry are our two co-directors, and there was a sincere sense of play that they wanted to have us feel free to do. Every single day was an opportunity to not recreate what's been done within the West End production or what's been seen on the TV show, but to actually evoke the spirit of the work within it.  

[Our writer], Kate Trefry, was really adamant about making this the best version possible. That means that for folks who have seen it on the West End, they have an opportunity to see a slightly different show! There has been a deeper exploration of these characters and a bigger commitment to the story that they're telling. So as an actor, how could I ever turn that down? It's like one of the best creative processes I've had so far.

I watched the documentary before I saw the show. It was really cool to see the playground-like environment that they created. 

Truly! If you come and see our show, you could pick one "background character", and if you watch that person through the entirety of the show, you will have a five-act play. And that is not being facetious in any form or fashion. Stephen Daldry was so committed that at any moment there's so much happening that your eye often naturally just drifts to a place where you can find reprieve...  you have no reprieve in the show though. Every person on stage is committed to the story that's being told and their individual perspective of it.  

I think one of the best examples of that is the early scene in the school when all of the students are being introduced. I cannot image the choreography that went into making that scene happen...

Almost every single person in the show is on stage at that moment at some point.  And what's funny is that was one of our first days of rehearsal all together. And it's hysterical because in this show we have three different turntables moving in any different direction at any given time and then set pieces that were moving on and off. So a simple cross up stage left is gonna be much more complicated than most other shows. 

I think the scene's success is also a real shout out to the crew that we have and the tireless hours that they have done to make sure that we are not only set up for success, but safe in all regards. We have one of the best crews on Broadway and the backstage life is as important as it is on stage. It's a true dance.

This is a true ensemble piece. What has it been like working with all of the actors on stage and forming a bond with all of them? 

We have 34 people on stage and countless more backstage. Of those 34 people that you see visually every night, 20 are making their Broadway debuts. It makes me very emotional because Malcolm [Callender], one of our swings, said it best. He was talking about other shows that he's been seeing on Broadway this year and the youth that has been fervent within the community and he said, "I don't really know how else to describe it other than I'm so excited to be a part of the next generation of theater." Even though this isn't my Broadway debut, that kind of energy makes it feel like it's the first time again. There is so much joy and so much community.  It just makes me endlessly grateful to be with these people because this ensemble is so committed to what they're doing and whatever they've been asked to do and they're giving their all.

If that wasn't enough, what is really amazing about our show, the stat right now from our ticket sales is that 65% of our audience have never been to a Broadway show before. 

That's so cool. I want to talk a little bit about your character. You're one of a few who a Stranger Things-watching audience knows already. I love how I felt whispers of David Harbour in your performance, but you weren't in any way impersonating him. How did you find that balance in creating a younger version of a character we already know, but kind of making it its own thing? 

I learned pretty quickly with Back to the Future that nobody was really interested in coming and seeing the iconic character exactly how it was done, even if that's what they think they want. What they're actually looking for and what connects people to story is heart and telling a truthful, honest expression of the character. And so for me, as being a true fan of the show and being a fan of Hopper since 2016, I think there was a lot already innately baking within me.

But also, I'm a part of this trio with Allison J. and Juan Carlos. It made it quite simply about  what is the dynamic here?  What are we trying to do? What are we trying to express? And for Hopper it really is about just trying to survive high school. A lot happens to him over the next 30 years, but this is pre-Vietnam, pre-New York cop, pre-family troubles. At this point he's really just trying to survive high school and get through a relationship with his dad that's not too great. He stumbles into having to care about people, and in classic Hopper fashion, it's this war between wanting to be that lone wolf and wanting to follow what he feels quite innately... which is caring about community. That struggle to me is very, very human. 

Did you go back and watch the show all after you were cast or did you stay far away?  

I did. I think it's just one of those things where you want to know what the fans expect. As a fan already, I had some of that for free, but there's just so much detail. What's so funny to me in rewatching is that in Season 1, Episode 7 there's a scene between Hopper, Joyce and Jonathan. We're approaching the climax and Hopper's telling Jonathan to take care of his mom because he is going to go out and do the thing. Then Joyce comes out at says the same thing. [Laughs] I didn't have to watch really anything else other than that, because that is the dynamic that is still playing out in the show.

So for fans who know the show, you're going to see everything that you love about these characters, but for fans who have never seen the show, you're starting at the beginning. This is an origin story. You're seeing these characters plant the seeds of who they will become in the TV show. 

What's it like for you experiencing the audience experiencing the show every night?

The audience is definitely another character that I think sometimes we forget that we have within our ensemble. Even on our "quieter nights" it's some of the loudest audience reactions I've ever heard in a theater before. There's so much passion and energy towards this IP already and then people come and they are suddenly enveloped in a whole new story. This is adding to the lore. You cannot see Season 5 without seeing this show. There are secret easter eggs that people don't even realize they're seeing and keys to the story moving forward...  it's really, really exciting stuff. And then you put in some of the best stagecraft, and magic ever seen... it's just a recipe for screams and tears and laughing and clapping.

I feel so honored to have another shot at being on Broadway. Not only is it really special for me and my family and the people who've supported me to be able to be back in this space, but aside from the 20 people who are making their Broadway debuts, it's 14 other people who aren't. 14 people who have at various levels of their career committed to this art form and to this community and to this industry. I've been so inspired by the people who've been doing this for decades. It means that all of us get to learn when we walk into the space. We're all trying to figure out this beast of a show, and I hope that when audiences come, they pay attention to those little details in between all of the big stuff- to those folks who are really grounding the piece.  

This is your second Broadway show, so this isn't all so new to you. Do you still have moments of disbelief that you get to do this for a living?

We had some photos come out from people who came and saw the show and sort of just like took action shots. My sister had sent me some of them because I hadn't seen that they were released. And I was like, "Oh, this really cool show is happening. I hope I can go see it!" It was just so silly of me. Like, what did I think I'd been doing for the last couple of months?! But it really is that sentiment again and again. The Duffer Brothers have been committed to telling the story that they needed to tell. It is for the audience, is with the audience, and also it is the story that is what needed to be shared. That commitment trusts the artists who are there. That means that in the room we aren't walking around being like, "We're in the biggest show on Broadway this season!" No, we're just a group of artists coming together to tell a story. 

So when you step away, when you go to the stage door, when you walk outside and you see the massive marquee, or when you see a demogorgon walk out on stage to do a pre-show warmup... that's when it gets a little surreal. I just keep trying to show up to work and keep having fun because there's not a lot of jobs like this.  

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