By Olivia Borgstroem
Calling all Stranger Things fans—the musical parody we never knew we needed has arrived!
Originally premiering off Broadway in 2021, Salty Theatre’s production of Stranger Sings! brings the Upside Down Down Under for the first time. Directed and produced by Ashley Taylor Tickell, the musical is a parody of a parody: building upon the Netflix show’s passion for everything ’80s and ridiculing the characters’ and storyline’s absurdity. Filled with rib-tickling one-liners, crushing self-awareness and a mixtape of iconic anthems, Stranger Sings! is the Marvel Multiverse of musical theatre and the ultimate nerd fest.
The musical roughly follows the TV-show’s first season, where Will Byers (Gabrielle Ward) is kidnapped by the supernatural Demogorgon and taken to the Upside Down, an alternate dimension that is parallel to the human world. While looking for him in the woods, his friends Mike (Jack Duff), Dustin (Liam J. Kirkpatrick) and Lucas (Guillaume Gentil) stumble upon Eleven (Jess Ridler), a quiet girl with paranormal powers who escaped from a nearby secret lab.
Stranger Sings! includes a plethora of creative references to the later seasons, making the show a treasure hunt for dedicated Stranger Things fans—I was constantly on the look for hidden details and underlying messages. Remixing the original storyline allowed the musical to add many new scenes, including snippets of the actors’ real life and fandom discourses.
The viral #JusticeForBarb is duly recognised through Barbara’s (Stacey-Louise Camilleri) power ballad ‘Nice’, an angry mix of R&B and Funny Girl, a subtle reference to another Barbara. Lit by a single spotlight, Camilleri’s performance was hilariously over-the-top, breaking the fourth wall with intense eye contact to fully communicate Barb’s unjust fate. The end was especially comedic, with Camilleri masterfully portraying her character’s breathlessness after the ballad: shuddering through her whole body and searching for Barb’s asthma inhaler.
One of the odder additions to the storyline is Barb’s supposed relationship with the Demogorgon. While this Demogorgon was not the frightening, screeching monster of the Netflix show—instead a hyper-sexualised creature played by Gentil—it was nevertheless strange envisioning Barb succumbing to Stockholm syndrome and dating her kidnapper. However, Gentil, clad in a skin-tight, beige bodysuit, expertly gave the Demogorgon humanity through expressive, sassy body language, making the Demogorgon its own character rather than a simple monster.
An especially confusing yet hilarious Demogorgon scene is its dance battle with Eleven in the Upside Down, since Eleven’s supposedly greatest superpower is dancing. The two actors danced with serious intensity to the classic song ‘The Final Countdown’ accompanied by glitter-clad backup singers. The overall effect was both comedic and chaotic, and I struggled to decide what to focus on—the roller-skating cast member appearing halfway through did not help.
Apart from Eleven, Ridler also portrayed Nancy, and so skilfully navigated the two characters that I did not realise they were played by the same person until after the show. Their performance was aided by on point costuming and makeup (Emily Bush), immaculately recreating Nancy’s good girl look in an A-line skirt, plain blouse, and bushy brown hair. Similarly, the main characters’ styles were perfectly replicated and it was obvious who was who from the beginning of the musical.
Costuming effectively signalled what characters were mocked, with these characters wearing less professional looking wigs, props and outfits. The best example of this was Papa, Eleven’s ‘dad’ from the lab. Papa sported a messy, haphazardly placed wig, displaying a stereotypically crazy scientist as opposed to his original character’s neat professionalism. This appearance made it clear the character was satirical, and so his sexualised hyper-persona was less surprising.
The original songs are parodies of ’80s hits and classic musicals. While all musical numbers were exquisitely executed, I found the lyrics bland and forgettable—I will not be adding any of them to my musical soundtracks playlist. On the other hand, I enjoyed identifying what parts of the songs were inspired by other musicals, such as Dear Evan Hansen and Frozen, as it added to the treasure hunt element of the show. The dialog is significantly wittier than the lyrics, with priceless and relatable one-liners such as “Now’s not the time to explore your past trauma through song” and “For once, I’m actually doing my job”.
The numerous set changes were done by cast members dressed as lab-scientists or trees, making the pauses between scenes amusing as they rotated set pieces in an exaggerated manner. This was a clever decision, as it removed the potential awkwardness of the audience silently watching these changes, while also adding comedic effect. The sets were simple yet detailed enough to feel intimate. Two rotating, cubic platforms were used to change between indoor scenes and the dark forest, adding depth to the stage depending on placement, and the indoor sets were impressively versatile, with posters and props changing to signify location.
These sets were skilfully supported by lighting (Gabriel Bethune), such as the recognisable Christmas lights placed above the stage and along the front with the iconic hand-painted alphabet used by Joyce Byer (Stephanie John) to communicate with her son Will while he was in the Upside Down. These lights flickered every time Eleven used her powers, making it clearer when sitting at the back. However, I was disappointed that the lights were not used with the alphabet more, especially as all the elements were already in place. Communication between the two dimensions is, in my opinion, a major part of the storyline and thus worthy of more stage time.
Salty Theatre’s Stranger Sings! is a must watch for all Stranger Things lovers. Viewers unfamiliar with the original show are still likely to have an enjoyable night, as the parody offers a highly talented cast with great vocal abilities, cheap yet entertaining humour, and witty dialog. It is, however, at its heart, a show made by nerds for nerds, the details and references being what made me love it. The warm comfort and familiarity of Stranger Sings! made me want to rewatch the Netflix original again—how unfortunate!
Salty Theatre’s off-broadway musical Stranger Sings! ran November 4th to 19th at Meat Market.
Olivia Borgstroem (they/them) is an Environmental Engineering student based in Naarm/Melbourne who likes to escape from the world of STEM by immersing themselves in all things theatre.
The Dialog 