00:00What is going through your mind right now? It's opening night, it's about to be the big debut, what's going through your house?
00:05It's crazy, I feel like I have an energy ball that's just bouncing around in my body right now.
00:09I'm feeling so many things, excited, nervous, just really like buzzy, I don't know if that makes sense.
00:16Like my heart is racing a mile a minute, but I'm really trying to be grounded and trying to be just present in this current moment
00:21because, I mean, it's a once in a lifetime thing, I'm only going to have my Broadway debut once,
00:26so, yeah, I'm just taking really, really deep breaths and, you know, just taking it as it comes.
00:33And what can you tell us about Patty and how Patty fits into the Stranger Things lore and storyline?
00:39Yeah, so Patty Newby is a new character in the Stranger Things universe, which is a gift for me as an actor
00:44because I grew up watching the series, so having an opportunity to create in the world that I grew up watching
00:49is just, I mean, you can't ask for anything more, but Patty is an orphan, she's Bob's adopted sister,
00:55and she fits into the world by being a key character in Henry Creel's story.
01:00Through Patty, we get to unlock Henry Creel's humanity, and we get to kind of see the boy before the monster.
01:07We get to kind of see what made him the supernatural serial killer that we meet in season four.
01:14But Patty, she is, you know, she's my best friend, what can I say?
01:19She's noble, she's ambitious, she's driven, and I hope that when people come see the show, they feel seen by Patty.
01:24Sure, and I know because Patty is a new character to the Stranger Things history, how did you sort of form this character?
01:33Did you take a lot of influence from the show, or how much of it, did you want to just kind of do your own thing?
01:38How much of it was kind of taken from the West End production?
01:41Yeah, so I really wanted to make sure that Patty fit in with the world tonally,
01:47so I made sure to, like, re-watch the series and, you know, make sure I had all of the right spooky vibes going on.
01:53But as far as character creation, I really wanted to pull from my own life,
01:57because when you watch the play, there are so many different places where Patty could just say,
02:02okay, I'm done, hands off, it's over, but she doesn't.
02:05And I wanted to really find a justification for that and really just take a deep dive into my own life of,
02:11if this were happening to me, if the only person who saw me and recognized me for who I am was going to be taken away from me,
02:17how would I respond?
02:19And that's really how I built Patty from the ground up and found her nobility and her ambition and her drive
02:24and found justification for her actions.
02:27Sure, and I know so many Stranger Things fans that are excited to see this show.
02:31Do you think that this show could make its way onto Netflix as its own spinoff?
02:36I would hope so.
02:37I mean, I think it definitely has the legs.
02:39Kate Tree Fry, our writer, was actually asked to write two episodes of Stranger Things when creating this play,
02:44and that's essentially what our Act 1 and Act 2 is.
02:47It's two separate episodes of Stranger Things live on stage.
02:50So I would hope that maybe Netflix would want to turn it into something on screen, but, you know, fingers crossed.
02:56Have you been able to have any conversations with anyone from the Netflix cast at all?
03:01I had an opportunity to meet Sadie Sink.
03:05She came to our show.
03:07It was an amazing experience.
03:08She's such a sweet person.
03:10But, no, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to any of the other cast about what they think, what they feel.
03:16I would hope that they like it.
03:17I hope maybe they come tonight and see it.
03:19So, you know.
03:20We got some surprises tonight with the Netflix cast, so that'll be exciting for sure.
03:24And, finally, I wanted to ask, what do you hope happens, as a big Stranger Things fan yourself, what do you hope happens in Season 5 of this series?
03:33How do you hope that this whole story wraps up?
03:35You know, being a part of the origin story, I've been given a few gifts of knowledge as a longtime Stranger Things fan.
03:45And what I can say about it is that our play perfectly fits into the world, especially when it comes to Season 5.
03:52So, when audiences watch Season 5, if you've seen the play, it's going to be a much more vibrant experience.
03:58You're going to be like, oh, I know what that is.
04:00I know what this is.
04:00And vice versa, if you watch Season 5 and you come see our play, it's going to be a perfect crossover.
04:05So, there are a few things in Season 5 that I'm especially excited to see because, you know, I've heard little inklings.
04:12I don't know all of it, but, you know, I know Season 5 is going to be a big one.
04:16Love that.
04:17I was so excited for that.
04:18So excited for you and Break a Leg tonight.
04:20Thank you so much.
04:20Oh, my gosh.
04:21Yeah.
04:21Take care.
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