If you have not seen “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” playing at the Marquis Theatre in the Marriott on W. 46th Street, then you must make plans to see this horror play which comes brilliantly to life in front of your eyes. The special effects alone are something you won’t believe and will never forget. One of the stars of this production, Gabrielle Nevaeh, plays Patty Newby, and is making not only her Broadway debut, but her stage debut as well. Coming to Broadway with a TV — mainly Nickelodeon — background, Nevaeh is showing audiences why she belongs on Broadway.
There’s a great chemistry between her and co-star Louis McCartney (Henry Creel), who is also making his Broadway debut. This play will have you engrossed, amazed, scared and engaged. Nevaeh recently took the time to speak with the AmNews about this incredible production. A Q& A follows.
AmNews: How did you find out about this role?
GN: About a year ago I got a self-tape audition for “Stranger Things” Broadway. At the time I didn’t know that the West End production was running. I had a hundred days to prepare for the self-tape audition. I did as much research as possible. I’m a total nerd whenever I have an audition for a property that already exists. I like to immerse myself in the world, so I gained as much knowledge as possible about the play and about what had already existed in the West End. There wasn’t a lot online. They did a very great job, especially preceding season five, of keeping the play under wraps, but I did the self-tape audition and then I got a call back two weeks later. I went to Los Angeles, had a week’s worth of callbacks in LA: Mix and match sessions with different boys who would be playing Henry and then they flew me out to New York for callbacks and I got the role.
AmNews; How does it feel to make your Broadway debut in this production?
GN: It’s absolutely incredible. I’m a huge “Strangers Things” fan. I grew up watching the series. So to have a bit of creative license in the universe that I grew up watching, it’s a gift as an actor. It’s definitely incredible to be making my Broadway debut. Personally, growing up I never thought I would have the courage to be on Broadway. I was an extremely shy kid. Getting up in front of the class to make a presentation truly felt like a punishment, where I would sway back and forth in front of the class and always look at my notecards. So, in my mind, I always had the thought of “you can’t give a presentation in front of 25 people, what makes you think you can perform in front of 2,500 people.” To be now a young adult and making my Broadway debut, it’s truly a love letter to my childhood self and then to be in “Stranger Things,” there’s nothing better than that.
AmNews: Does it add pressure to do a role for a character that audiences from TV are already familiar with?
GN: Absolutely. I feel that as a longtime fan, I remembered when Max and Robin were introduced to the series. I remember having the thought of okay, “I love this show and now they’re introducing these characters. They kind of have to prove themselves. They have to prove why they belong in the story.” And I had a lot of anxiety early on creating Patty Newby because I knew that people in the audience would have those similar feelings, especially those who were diehard fans like myself. And on top of that I had never been in a situation where someone else had already played the role [West End], so a lot of my performance insecurities, plus anxieties started to fuel me wanting to do it right, whatever right meant. But through the process I learned that there is no right or wrong way for art. Art is subjective. I was picked for the role for my capabilities. It was not to fit into the role for whatever my predetermined idea was of the character or what I felt I needed to live up to as far as expectations. I was allowed to morph Patty and build Patty from the ground up and really infuse Gabrielle into the role.
AmNews: Why does your character take up for Henry in the school scene at the beginning?
GN: In a lot of ways I feel that Patty represents nobility. She’s always trying to do the right thing. Patty’s really had a very hard life, but throughout the entire duration of the story, we see her try and fight for the good and fight for the just. As far as Walter and Henry are concerned, she doesn’t know this young boy at the beginning of the play. She comes around the lockers and she sees Walter messing with this kid. It’s just her natural impulse to say something to the bully because that’s the right thing to do. Patty has also had her fair share of ins and outs with Walter as well. She understands what it’s like to be bullied. She understands what it’s like to be an outcast. It’s just a natural impulse to step in and say cut it out.
AmNews: Patty has a lot going on, she’s an orphan, she’s friends with a strange boy, how did you approach the role?
GN: I really wanted to create an emotional umbilical cord between Patty and myself and try to find places in my life where I can relate to her because Patty and I are vastly different story-wise: she’s an orphan, she’s an outcast, her dad hates her, her brother isn’t around anymore, she has no friends, no one sees her or understands who she is and my life is vastly different. I come from a loving family, I have friends and I feel very much like I belong. So, I did a lot of character work in the beginning of trying to build up the story and really trying to be a detective as to why she wants to stay with Henry. As a “Stranger Things” fan, we know that Henry Creel turns into Vecna, but Patty doesn’t know that, so why does she want to stay with him? Why does she want to be his friend?
AmNews: What is it like to be a part of the crazy bathroom scene?
GN: The bathroom scene is absolutely epic. It’s one of my favorite parts in the show. I take a lot of pride in that scene because it took months to learn how to do. The scene itself is extraordinarily dangerous. It takes place in the light and the dark, very, very fast and very quickly, but it’s a scene that completely immerses the audience in the story. I love it because the audience begins laughing and they end screaming. I feel that it truly encompasses what our show is — it’s a comedy, but it’s also a horror-sci-fi show and you don’t know what to expect. Things are moving very quickly and are very intense at times, so you always have to be paying attention and be on your A-game as an audience member, just as well as being an actor on stage. I find that the bathroom scene is an equalizer. It’s a level playing field for both the audience and the actor — we’re in it together. I remember early on, I was terrified of the scene, because I’m afraid of the dark, so learning how to overcome my fear of the dark was definitely a challenge for that scene, but in the end I feel like it paid off.
AmNews: Patty sees Henry through different eyes than others do. What helps these characters to connect in such a special way?
GN: From Patty’s perspective, Henry is the only person that has ever seen her in her entire life. And she has never had someone look at her and accept her as she is and say “that’s completely okay, I love you as you are, let’s go on this adventure together.” She’s never had that. So, when she recognizes that in Henry, it’s like her entire world has suddenly opened up and she also sees someone who is broken and who has also had a hard life and who also has difficulty at home and who is isolated and an outcast. She doesn’t see someone who will end up being Vecna at the end of the story. She sees a boy who is craving love, who wants to be accepted and seen for who he is. That’s her connection to Henry and as the story unfolds she ends up falling in love with him because she just sees someone who is broken and doesn’t know how to find their way back to that softness and that gentleness and she’s trying to show him a better way of life. That’s Patty’s connection to Henry, it’s the fact that she recognizes where he’s at and she recognizes that he isn’t too far gone and she refuses to believe he’s evil. She believes that there is still time for Henry and she can save him. She can still show him the light that she somehow found within herself.
AmNews: How much fun are you having onstage?
GN: I’m having a blast on stage, especially in Act 1 because Patty is not taking any of it seriously. She doesn’t believe that any of it’s real. She truly believes she’s found this boy with magic powers that can make dreams come true and loves comic books. So, especially in Act 1, I’m having a blast, just having fun. Doing pretty much whatever I want choice-wise, trying to make my fellow castmates laugh and really enjoying Patty and then in Act 2 I’m having a lot of fun showcasing the change between the girl that you meet in Act 1 and the girl that you meet in Act 2, facing Patty’s bravery and courage and following that storyline for Patty. It’s a lot of fun dealing with the audience. The audience shapes the show. I personally love a rowdy audience, sometimes we get those that feel it’s a rock concert and they’re cheering, getting up out of their seats and they’re clapping and having a dialogue with us while we’re on stage. Those nights are incredibly vibrant and they truly shape the performance. So, I fully encourage those who come to see the play — don’t be afraid to be vocal.
AmNews: What do you want audiences to get when they come to see the show?
GN: I think Patty has a great line in Act 1 where she’s basically telling Henry that his mistakes are what makes him beautiful. When people come to see the play I want them to feel accepted and I want them to take a look at their own lives and insecurities and find a place of acceptance or embark on that journey of acceptance for who they are. For me personally as an actor, I have grown so much during this production. I’ve learned that what makes me “me,” is what makes me beautiful and that’s what makes me unique as an artist. And I hope that when people come see the play they also feel welcome and feel inspired to take a look at their own lives and become best friends with their insecurities.
AmNews: Where did you go to school and train?
GN: For Broadway, I have no formal training. I have never set foot on a stage ever. Before I left Los Angeles to move to New York I attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute for a few weeks because I wanted to truly immerse myself in what it meant to be on stage. I grew up on Nickelodeon [playing Sadie in “That Girl Lay Lay” and in “All That” working on Nickelodeon from age 13-18]. I grew up doing tv and film, so I did have performance experience and experience with character analyst and all those good things. All the traditional acting techniques I was completely aware of and had utilized in my life on screen, but the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute truly opened up an entire world of artistry and it was a life-changing experience to be around artists who truly cared about the work and the artists’ journey throughout the entire story and their personal life as well.
AmNews: What is the challenge in coming from TV productions to being live on stage and doing eight shows a week?
GN: TV and film and Broadway are vastly different. I’d like to say that the fundamentals of acting and storytelling are the same, but the technical elements are night and day. With tv and film, you definitely have a safety net with take-two, cut, all of those things. The mic is right by yourself. Whereas on Broadway there is no take two, there is no cut and you have to be able to fill up space with your voice. The biggest challenge for me as an actor has been the physicality of Broadway, the physical upkeep of my body to be able to perform eight times a week and give a performance that can be seen all the way at the back of the house. That’s been a learning curve for me. The pacing of Broadway was also something that was very specific and was challenging for me because in TV and film there’s tons of time — you can give time to the looks, to the space between lines, to the actions on camera, but Broadway’s “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is pretty much a three-hour long play. We don’t have time to give that look, to give that space to breathe between lines. Stephen Daldry [Director] worked with me and I’ve grown a lot as an artist.
AmNews: Why should people come out to see this show?
GN: People should come to see this show because it’s unlike anything that’s on Broadway. If you’re a “Stranger Things” fan, we’re taking you all the way back to the beginning. We’re giving you nuggets for season five, you’re not going to want to miss it. There are tons of things that are easter eggs from previous seasons that you’re going to pick up on and you’re going to say I know exactly what that is. When Season five comes out you will say “I remember that from the play.” So, it’s the perfect thing for longtime fans. And if you’ve never seen “Stranger Things,” that’s totally cool, because what a better place to start than from the beginning. It’s truly a classic story. It’s very Greek. It’s about can love defeat fear? I feel like it’s a very timely story especially in our generation. Come see this play if you’re a “Stranger Things” fan or to see an epic horror story on stage.
For more info, visit broadway.strangerthingsonstage.com.