Evan Alexander Smith takes over as Dr. Brenner in Stranger Things: The First Shadow from tonight, and stays for the final fourteen weeks of the Broadway run.
Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions have named Evan Alexander Smith as the final Dr. Brenner in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. He begins performances this evening at the Marquis Theatre and plays the role for the last fourteen weeks of the run, which closes on Sunday, January 3, 2027.
Smith has appeared on Broadway in Back to the Future, Merrily We Roll Along and Amazing Grace, and off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors and The Play That Goes Wrong, which he also toured. He trained at George Brown Theatre School.
He is one of five company members who begin performances tonight, alongside Taylor Sage Evans as Karen Childress, Neil McCaffrey, Drew Redington and Kala Ross.
The play was the most decorated of 2025, taking four Tony Awards including Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Play, plus a Special Tony Award for its illusions and technical effects.
Close to 1.8 million tickets have been sold across the West End and Broadway, over more than 1,500 performances. The production was Netflix’s first venture into theatre, and the run has now been extended for the final time.
The play is written by Kate Trefry, from an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry. It is directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin.
Tickets start at $59.75 and are available on the Stranger Things: The First Shadow tickets page.
