'Stranger Things' cast keeps monsters, mystery alive on Broadway
'Stranger Things' cast keeps monsters, mystery alive on Broadway
Ilana Keller, Asbury Park PressMon, October 19, 2026 at 9:16 AM UTC
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It's a long way from the Jersey Shore to spooky Hawkins, Indiana, but Little Silver native Shea Grant knows the route well.
The 2019 Red Bank Regional High School graduate made her Broadway debut in the world of "Stranger Things" and now stars as Joyce Maldonado in the hit play, which brings astounding special effects and stunning world-building to the Great Bright Way.
Grant played Claudia in the original cast of "Stranger Things: The First Shadow," a prequel to the events in the hit Netflix television show. As the show entered its second year, she took over the role of Joyce fulltime.
"It has been a really, really fun and rewarding experience," she said. "I think we have a talented cast who is excited about bringing Hawkins to life on stage. The technical, practical aspect of all of our magic that happens is really, really fun to both witness and hone eight times a week, and get that audience response."
It was especially meaningful to make her Broadway debut along with many other castmates. she says.
"It was amazing. In the original cast, 20 out of 34 of us were making our Broadway debuts, so it was a really special experience. It was magical, I think it's the only word to say it. It felt really supercharged and powerful."
She loves playing Joyce Maldonado (later Byers), a high schooler who later grows up to be the mother of Will Byers in the television show.
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"I love Joyce as a character. Winona Ryder (who plays Byers in the television version) is obviously the best ever, to put it mildly, but I think Joyce, the way that I see her in high school, she's going a mile a minute, she's totally set on her goals, but she's also — as she is in the series — a little bit scatterbrained, that's how her brain works, which reminds me of both myself and myself in high school," she said.
She says Joyce's nuances are fun to live out onstage.
"I think that the thing in front of her is always the thing she's totally present with, which I think is a really fun character trait to be able to play with. I love that she's a little edgy and she wants to get out of her hometown. I also love how funny she is. I think she's really perceptive. A lot of the dialogue is very much Joyce commenting directly on the thing that's happening in front of her, she's super opinionated, and I love playing with all of that."
Grant says she's been a big fan of "Stranger Things" and it's a dream come true to be part of its universe.
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"From the beginning of the show till when I got on, I was the biggest fan. It was just an unbelievable thing to happen. You feel like, oh, 'Stranger Things,' as an actor, that's just not something I'm really going to be a part of. And then to come into it from this Broadway show at the Broadway level, it was unbelievable. It was so exciting."
'Beautiful community'
Growing up at the Jersey Shore, Grant discovered a love for acting.
"I love language, and I love to tell stories, and I think theater specifically offers this beautiful, momentary community, and this communal, almost ritual-like experience between you and the audience," she said. "There's a beautiful synergy that happens where you're all present. Actors always talk about that one moment where you can feel everyone in the audience holding their breath, and you can't get it anywhere else. So I love that, and I love stories, I love TV and movies, and I always have."
"And I was bad at sports," she laughed.
Grant was in the drama program at Red Bank Regional with director Rueben Jackson, playing The Witch in "Into The Woods," as well as taking part in "Amadeus" and "The Crucible," among other shows.
She also grew up taking acting classes at Actors Playground in Freehold and the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. She also was part of the Little Shakespeare program at Two River Theater in Red Bank, "which I think is one of the most phenomenal programs Monmouth County offers to young artists," she said. She took part in "Macbeth" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" as part of the Little Shakespeare initiative.
After graduating Red Bank Regional, Grant continued her studies at New York University, earning a BFA.
See 'Stranger Things on Broadway'
"Stranger Things: The First Shadow" plays at the Marquis Theatre through Jan. 3. It won a special Tony Award for its illusions and special effects as well as awards for Best Scenic Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Play.
Although time on Broadway is running short for the show, Grant says the cast is stronger than ever, and relishing every moment onstage.
"I think that all of us in the cast feel really grateful to be there and to be doing the show eight times a week. It's a real gift to be able to be telling that story and be on Broadway and be together, and I think that, if anything, knowing the closing date has just made all of us appreciate it that much more," she said.
For tickets and more information about "Stranger Things," visit broadway.strangerthingsonstage.com.
Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns.Reach out: ikeller@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Stranger Things' cast keeps monsters, mystery alive on Broadway
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