‘Stranger Things’ Have Happened: West ’25 Cast in Original Broadway Production

Engulfed in midterms as a student at Emerson’s LA campus, Maya West didn’t think much of her agent wanting to speak with her last October.

What he had to tell West was extremely important. She had been cast in the original Broadway production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

“When he told me, I started shaking in the best of possibly ways, and pacing around my room,” said West. “It didn’t click until I called my mother and I burst into tears. She had to pull the car over because she was so happy and emotional.”

West ’25 was cast as part of the ensemble for the show that officially opens April 22 at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre. The play’s storyline is a prequel based on the Netflix hit show, and debuted in London’s West End, winning the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.

West is a big fan of the Netflix show, having watched it since her middle school days. She remembers when the Emerson community went nuts because the character Nancy Wheeler wore an Emerson College T-shirt in Season 4 of the show.

As part of the ensemble, West is backup for five roles: Sue Anderson, Patty’s mom, and three other roles that she can’t talk about publicly – yet.

“It’s a great learning opportunity about how to juggle different roles and testing myself in the best of ways,” said West. “Being there for all those scenes, group scenes, ensemble scenes, I’m always present, notetaking, learning, and absorbing.”

West said working on a Broadway show from the ground up is fascinating, and she’s learning how a show is visualized and then created through collaboration between all facets of the production.

“It’s eye-opening to see it come together to make a show that is vivid, scary, and thrilling to watch, and immerses the audience in,” said West. “This is like a master class in so many different fields of theatre.”

As West is taking a real-life master class, she continues to work to fulfill her Emerson College graduation requirements. She is working on two projects in an independent directed study that includes looking at what it’s like to be an ensemble cast member on Broadway.

“I’m looking at it through a different lens about vocal and mental health,” said West. She said that School of the Arts Dean Kate Eichhorn and Performing Arts Chair and Associate Professor Brenda Foley have been a great support throughout the process in constructing a way to fulfill her requirements.

West said Emerson classes like her sophomore scene study class helped her learn about being on actor on camera, and that Los Angeles affiliated faculty member Jen Zaborowski was integral to her education.

“I credit her with being a guiding light and grounded person in thinking about where do I want my career to go? What do I envision for myself?” said West. “I’ve always dreamt of being on Broadway. It’s not something I thought would happen my senior year of college.”

The casting process for the show also was educational. She’s been auditioning for parts for the last five years with the help of her manager. She sent in her audition tape for Stranger Things over the summer, and then went about doing summertime things. Then she got an in-person callback, and then the waiting game began, until October, when she learned that she had been cast in the show.

The morning after the ELA senior showcase in December, West had to be back in New York City for a fitting. Rehearsals started in late January, so she had some time to collect herself, work out details with Emerson, and prepare for the show.

As a native of New York, West is back in the same apartment building she grew up in, but not living with her parents, although she visits them often.

“I go up to their apartment and have meals with them, and my dogs are running around, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, I got to be at the theater on Broadway in an hour.’ It’s funny when we have moments like that,” said West.

West said being part of an original Broadway cast is a dream she’s held in her heart since she was a child.

“It’s a fun, fresh cast, and for so many of us, it’s our Broadway debuts,” said West. “The Stranger Things family welcomed us. It’s been a dream.”