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When asked why she鈥檚 currently on Broadway in John Proctor is the Villain, Sadie Sink responds with a cheeky, 鈥淥nce a theatre kid, always a theatre kid.鈥�

Sure, Sink may have spent the better part of the last decade as a cast member on Stranger Things, but she actually began her career as a standby, and then a replacement red-headed orphan, in Annie on Broadway (). Then in 2022, Sink was trying to figure out what she would do when the Netflix series was over. She then noticed that her co-star on Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo, was spending a lot of time in New York doing theatre. 鈥淕aten is such a musical theatre kid. And I've seen every show that he's done. I saw Sweeney Todd, and he was so good in it,鈥� enthuses Sink. 鈥淕aten has really inspired me to get back into it.鈥�

After so many years playing the same role, Sink wanted a challenge. Sure, she had fought supernatural monsters and did indie films like The Whale. But it was the stage that taught her that 鈥減erforming was something that I really enjoyed and wanted to continue.鈥� So after Stranger Things, Sink knew that theatre could provide the kind of rigor and growth that she was looking for in the next stage of her career.

鈥淏eing able to perform live in front of people, that was something that I knew would be a challenge, and one that I was ready to take鈥攅specially at this point in my life, ending a big chapter of being on a huge franchise television show. I kind of wanted to, like, go do something completely opposite,鈥� she says.

Sink told her agent to send her theatre scripts. By coincidence, her agent worked at the same agency, WME, that represented playwright Kimberly Belflower, whose play John Proctor Is the Villain had received a well-reviewed run at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. in 2022. The script landed in Sink鈥檚 inbox, and she devoured it in one sitting. Sink鈥檚 manager then connected her to producers Sue Wagner and John Johnson, and the show鈥檚 journey to Broadway began from there. John Proctor Is the Villain opened April 14 at the Booth Theatre to rave reviews (watch Sink and playwright Kimberly Belflower discuss the new play in the video above with 半岛体育鈥檚 Jeffrey Vizca铆no).

Though Sink is returning to Broadway in John Proctor Is the Villain, the show marks playwright Kimberly Belflower鈥檚 Broadway debut. 鈥淭hat is such a testament to Sadie to Sue and John because, in my experience, a lot of theatres are afraid to take chances on new writers,鈥� says Belflower. 鈥淏ut Sadie was like, 鈥楴o, I don't care that I don't know who this writer is. I know what this play did to me, and I want to be in it.鈥�

Indeed, while stars tend to enjoy doing Shakespeare or modern classics on the stage, it is rare for a celebrity to come to Broadway in an entirely new play鈥攎uch less one by an untested playwright. But when Sink first read it, she was immediately struck by how authentically Belflower portrayed Gen Z-ers. John Proctor Is the Villain takes place at a rural Georgia high school in 2018, where a group of high schoolers (many of them teenage girls) are studying The Crucible in their English class. At the same time, a #MeToo scandal breaks out in their town, leading these girls to confront questions around feminism in their traditional religious hometown鈥攁nd realizing that maybe the things they were taught aren鈥檛 things they agree with.

鈥淜imberly just captures my generation and our voices in such an authentic light, which is very rare to come across in film, TV, plays, what have you these days,鈥� says Sink, adding that she was most touched by 鈥渉ow these girls are able to take that hope that they have and change the world around them, even if it鈥檚 just for a second.鈥�

So it鈥檚 not all teen angst; Sink is quick to point out how funny the play is鈥攖he girls talk about some heavy topics, but they also discuss their love for Taylor Swift and Twilight. It's another way Belflower's teenage dialogue is spot-on: 鈥淵ou can't tell a story about high school students without mentioning Taylor Swift,鈥� says Sink, with the pop star (she says Swift is unaware of her mention in the play).

Though Sink plays an outcast, Shelby, what she loves about the character is her sense of humor. Shelby, like Max on Stranger Things, endures some traumatic events鈥攂ut she鈥檚 also allowed moments of lightness.

鈥淢ax and Shelby are similar in the sense that there is definitely inner turmoil,鈥� says Sink, who adds that Shelby is unlike any other character Sink鈥檚 played before because 鈥渟he is also really funny and awkward and kind of embarrassing at times. But she owns it, she knows that that's part of her charm鈥� It also just makes what she's really going through all the more heartbreaking once you realize what this mask is covering.鈥�

The much-talked-about moment in John Proctor Is the Villain has been the show鈥檚 final moments (which we won鈥檛 spoil here). But it includes an interpretive dance performed by Shelby and her friend, Raelyn (played by an impressive Amalia Yoo). The backing track: Lorde鈥檚 鈥淕reen Light.鈥� Why? You鈥檒l have to watch the play to find out. You鈥檇 think Sink would鈥檝e been nervous to dance in front of a Broadway audience, but she鈥檚 found it freeing鈥攊t reminds her of performing for her parents in their living room.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun,鈥� she enthuses. 鈥淎nd it's such a form of expression and freedom and the bravery that these girls have to do it in front of their entire class and make such a statement with it鈥 was so excited about that. Every night, it feels really cathartic. Having to bottle up so many emotions through most of the play and then just kind of letting it all out in such a physical way at the end, it's a huge release.鈥�

John Proctor Is the Villain has helped Sink release her own fears. Sink remembers doing Annie at 10 years old and while it was fun, she also remembered being terrified at messing up. But now, performing in front of 750 people every night has helped her let go of that baggage. 鈥淟etting go of the idea that I have to have everything figured out at this point has been super good for me and my former theatre kid brain, where everything has to be exactly perfect every single time you do it.鈥� Sink then adds, passionately, 鈥淚've got exactly what I needed out of [this experience] already鈥鈥檓 also feeling closer to myself as an actor.鈥�

At the same time as Sink is acting in John Proctor Is the Villain, there are posters of her all over New York City in another new project: the movie musical 翱鈥橠别蝉蝉补, where she鈥檚 a guitar-playing balladeer looking to heal a post-apocalyptic world through song. Sink did her own singing in the film, showcasing her vocal chops publicly for the first time since Annie. Now that Sink鈥檚 done a play on Broadway, is a musical next?

Sink answers with a very firm and fast no. 鈥淭hat vocal technique and stamina, I don't think I'm ready to take that on,鈥� she says. For the moment, she鈥檚 enjoying dancing onstage without the singing, adding with a giggle, 鈥淲e鈥檒l have to teach the dance at some point. People can come with the dance prepared.鈥�

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Photos: Sadie Sink, Gabriel Ebert, Molly Griggs, More in John Proctor is the Villain

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