{"id":2025,"date":"2026-08-07T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/08\/07\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T15:55:00","slug":"im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/08\/07\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m Who I Wanted To See\u2019 \u2014 &#8216;Stranger Things: The First Shadow&#8217; Star Ayana Cymone Is Redefining What A Black Leading Lady Looks Like On Broadway [Exclusive]"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/08\/17860608525057.jpeg?w=660&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Two people sitting on the floor of a rustic wooden cabin, surrounded by lit candles.\" class=\"wp-image-1685022\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy \/ Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the terrifying and deeply nostalgic universe of <em>Stranger Things<\/em>, the presence of Henry Creel\u2014the troubled boy who eventually becomes the monstrous Vecna\u2014has horrified millions of viewers worldwide. On the stage of the Marquis Theatre, inside Broadway\u2019s Tony-winning production <em>Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/em>, something unexpected steals the spotlight: a grounding, fiercely human love story. At the very center of that emotional core is Patty Newby, played by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ayanacymone\/\">Ayana Cymone<\/a>, who carries the heart, soul, and terrifying screams of the role eight times a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ayana sat down with <em>MadameNoire<\/em> in this exclusive conversation to discuss her trajectory, stepping into this pivotal lead role, and what it truly means to occupy space on Broadway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cymone\u2019s performance speaks to a change taking place across the theater landscape\u2014a moment where Black women are holding down major spaces across the broader New York theatrical scene. Whether observing the raw, ensemble-driven energy of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1678880\/runako-campbell-outsiders-broadway\/\"><em>The Outsiders<\/em><\/a>, the high-octane spectacle of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1440591\/jasmine-amy-rogers-betty-boop-broadway-history\/\"><em>Boop! The Musical<\/em><\/a>, the classic genre reinventions in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1678557\/broadway-nikki-m-james-little-shop-of-horrors-exclusive\/\"><em>Little Shop of Horrors<\/em><\/a>, or the multi-generational celebration of Black female agency in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/l.threads.com\/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmadamenoire.com%2F1680770%2Fwhoopi-monologues-danielle-pinnock-exclusive%2F&amp;e=AUDsMZ0THs0EBX6YH_BAqVQYfOzmvba7O_CVeKouAA8aihgao-K8WC8vY5dew1pbvzHaAtCgw-igBzXaSlkMWkCDNB5zVwWlWnhbitfay-yV7ISyP3zHkKFMhANed7CSbB2tC6qlw0d0qmVy_n0mqnfgj3SD\"><em>The Whoopi Monologues<\/em><\/a>, the standard for what Black artists can lead is expanding rapidly. Cymone\u2019s performance as Patty reflects this growing, necessary standard: Black heroines leading stories where their humanity isn\u2019t reduced to trauma, but elevated as the ultimate emotional force.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy \/ Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy In the terrifying and deeply nostalgic universe of Stranger Things, the presence of Henry Creel\u2014the troubled boy who eventually becomes the monstrous Vecna\u2014has horrified millions of viewers worldwide. On the stage of the Marquis Theatre, inside Broadway\u2019s Tony-winning production Stranger Things: The First [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/08\/17860608525057.jpeg?w=660&strip=all&quality=80","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"buzzeditor_post_format":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018I\u2019m Who I Wanted To See\u2019 \u2014 &#039;Stranger Things: The First Shadow&#039; Star Ayana Cymone Is Redefining What A Black Leading Lady Looks Like On Broadway [Exclusive] - Convo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/08\/07\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I\u2019m Who I Wanted To See\u2019 \u2014 &#039;Stranger Things: The First Shadow&#039; Star Ayana Cymone Is Redefining What A Black Leading Lady Looks Like On Broadway [Exclusive] - Convo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source: Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy \/ Evan Zimmerman and Matthew Murphy In the terrifying and deeply nostalgic universe of Stranger Things, the presence of Henry Creel\u2014the troubled boy who eventually becomes the monstrous Vecna\u2014has horrified millions of viewers worldwide. On the stage of the Marquis Theatre, inside Broadway\u2019s Tony-winning production Stranger Things: The First [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/funkynubianrepublic.com\/convo\/2026\/08\/07\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Convo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T15:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/08\/17860608525057.jpeg?w=660&strip=all&quality=80\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Funky Nubian\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Funky Nubian\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/funkynubianrepublic.com\\\/convo\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/07\\\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/funkynubianrepublic.com\\\/convo\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/07\\\/im-who-i-wanted-to-see-stranger-things-the-first-shadow-star-ayana-cymone-is-redefining-what-a-black-leading-lady-looks-like-on-broadway-exclusive\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Funky Nubian\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/funkynubianrepublic.com\\\/convo\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/99a91154fe650b29573146ad5edcdd2a\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018I\u2019m Who I Wanted To See\u2019 \u2014 &#8216;Stranger Things: The First Shadow&#8217; 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