Content Guide: Last Stop on Market Street

LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET • kindergarten - 5th GRADE

“Sometimes when you’re surrounded by dirt, CJ, you’re a better witness for what’s beautiful.”

Charleston Stage, now celebrating its 47th Season, is South Carolina’s largest professional theatre company in residence at the Historic Dock Street Theatre. Charleston Stage’s acclaimed full-scale productions light up the stage with stunning scenery, dazzling costumes, and brilliant lights! Productions feature a Professional Resident Acting Company and over 100 professional actors, singers, designers and theatre artists. All performances take place at the Historic Dock Street Theatre, “America’s First Theatre,” in the heart of downtown Charleston.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Brief Synopsis, Characters, Age Recommendation and Content Warnings 4-5 Background Info:

BRIEF

By Matt de la Peña

Illustrated by Christian Robinson

Adapted for the Stage by Cheryl L. West

Music and Lyrics by Lamont Dozier and Paris Ray Dozier

Digital Recording and Underscoring by Paris Ray Dozier

Originally Co-commissioned and Produced by Chicago Children’s Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company

Produced by Special Arrangement with Plays for New Audiences

Family Series Presenting Sponsor: Katherine Schob Glenn

Synopsis:

Last Stop on Market Street is a captivating and uplifting musical adaptation of Matt de la Peña’s acclaimed children’s book. Centered around the curious and imaginative CJ, the story takes audiences on a journey through a vibrant and diverse cityscape. As CJ and his grandmother embark on their weekly bus ride, they encounter a kaleidoscope of characters and experiences that open CJ’s eyes to the beauty of the world around him. With an inspiring mix of lively music and thoughtful lessons about empathy, community, and the power of seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, this musical celebrates the richness of urban life and the boundless possibilities that await when we embrace the wonders of diversity.

CHARACTERS:

CJ

Nana Teacakes

Tatted Man

Vernon

Mr. Dennis

age recommendation: kindergarten - 5th

Softball Girls

Jojo

Grandma Posey

Madame Butterfly content warnings

Last Stop on Market Street does tackle some deeper topics of conversation: homelessness, differently-abled individuals, biases, and prejudices.

the creative team

Matt de la Peña (Author of Childrens book)

Matt de la Peña is the New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medalwinning author of seven young adult novels (including Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, and Superman: Dawnbreaker) and six picture books (including Milo Imagines the World and Last Stop on Market Street). In 2016 he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. Matt received his MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific where he attended school on a full basketball scholarship. In 2019 Matt was given an honorary doctorate from UOP. de la Peña currently lives in Southern California. He teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country.

Christian Robinson (Illustrator)

Christian Robinson is passionate about telling stories with pictures. Born in Hollywood, California in 1986, he grew up in a small onebedroom apartment with his brother, two cousins, aunt, and grandmother. Drawing became a way to make space for himself in a world crowded with loving others. “We didn’t have a lot growing up, but I at least always had a pencil and paper. I couldn’t control the circumstances around me, but I could at least, you know, decide what I wanted on that piece of paper, what sort of world I wanted to create.”

Christian’s artwork grew to be a visionary expression of the world as he wished it was. After studying animation at the California Institute of the Arts and securing an internship at Pixar Animation Studios, a chance meeting at the studio resulted in his first picture book gig based on the characters form the movie Up (2009). A dedicated artist from childhood, Christian has worked tirelessly to illustrate 17 books in his distinctive, engaging, beautiful cut paper style. His many accolades include a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Last Stop on Market Street (2015), as well as numerous starred reviews in prestigious children’s literature publications. He prioritizes depicting all kinds of children in his illustrations: “Picture books especially are many children’s first introduction to the world. Seeing yourself is almost like a message, it’s saying: you matter, you are visible, and you’re valuable.”

Cheryl L. West (Adapted for the Stage)

Cheryl L. West was born in Chicago in 1965. She holds three academic degrees, one of which is from the University of Illinois at ChampaignUrbana. Prior to her work as a playwright, she was a teacher and social worker. She is the recipient of several awards such as the Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award (2016) honoring the canon of work she has created, the American Alliance For Theatre & Education Distinguished Play Award (2016- Akeelah and the Bee), and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Lamont Dozier (Composer and Lyricist)

Lamont Dozier was most well-known as part of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Motown’s legendary team of songwriters, producers, and arrangers. A galvanizing force in the ‘60s R&B and pop chart dominance of the Detroit-based label, the trio was behind number one hits such as “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” and “You Can’t Hurry Love,” among other chart-toppers for the Supremes, and “(I Can’t Help Myself) Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” both for the Four Tops. Holland-Dozier-Holland later launched Invictus and Hot Wax Records, and enjoyed additional gold-certified success with the likes of Chairmen of the Board and Freda Payne. Dozier’s own recordings date back to the late ‘50s. They include a run of ‘70s and ‘80s albums that began with Out Here on My Own (1973), featuring the Top 40 singles “Trying to Hold on to My Woman” and “Fish Ain’t Bitin’.” In the mid-’80s, Dozier began to focus again on writing for other artists, and later that decade scored another number one pop hit -- as well as a Grammy -- with Phil Collins’ “Two Hearts.” Over the next few decades, Dozier recorded a few more albums, the most successful of which was Inside Seduction (1991). The Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee died in 2022, leaving behind a gilded songbook.

Paris Ray Dozier (Composer and Lyricist)

Paris Ray Dozier is an American Songwriter from Los Angeles, California whose Musical Theatre productions have opened and continue to run across the United States. Dozier’s career began when he was 15, after attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in West Hollywood, CA, where he performed in various Shakespearean productions. He went on to write songs for artists on Disney Music Group’s Hollywood Records, where he was also signed as a singer-songwriter and producer. Soon after his tenure at Hollywood Records, Paris became the head of the music department and theme writer for B InTune TV, which broadcasted to over 100 million households in the United States and 54 countries worldwide - on the UPN Network, ABC Television, NBC and Fox.

fun facts

• Chicago Children’s Theatre and Minneapolis based Children’s Theatre Company cocommissioned the musical which first premiered in Chicago in the spring of 2018.

• Last Stop On Market Street won the Newberry award in 2016.

• Before it’s run at the Dock Street Theatre, Charleston Stage’s Production of Last Stop on Market Street originally toured to schools, libraries and community centers with a different cast in May of 2024.

• Matt de la Peña became the first Hispanic American Author to win the Newberry Award.

vocabulary

Appreciate: recognize the full worth

Creaked: (of an object or structure, typically a wooden one) a harsh, high-pitched sound when being moved or when pressure or weight is applied.

Encounter: faced with an unexpected experience (something difficult or hostile)

Freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think without hindrance or restraint.

Lurched: an abrupt, unsteady, uncontrolled movement or series of movements; stagger.

Plucking: catch hold of and pull quickly

Surrounded: be all around (someone or something)

Witness: evidence; proof

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For almost 300 years audiences have delighted in performances at the Historic Dock Street Theatre which stands on the site of the very first theatre building in America which opened its doors in 1736. The current building, originally The Planter’s Hotel was built in 1803 and in 1937 was converted into the Dock Street Theatre know today. Charleston Stage presents over 150 performances at the Historic Dock Street Theatre playing to theatre goers from every state in the union and many foreign countries. The Dock Street Theatre, newly renovated in 2010, is currently owned and managed by the City of Charleston. Other performing arts groups including Spoleto Festival USA perform here annually.

On February 12, 1736 the Dock Street Theatre opened with a performance of The Recruiting Officer. Built on the corner of Church Street and Dock Street (now known as Queen Street), the Historic Dock Street Theatre was the first building in America built exclusively to be used for theatrical performances. Flora, the first opera performance in America, took place at the Historic Dock Street Theatre.

The original Dock Street Theatre was probably destroyed by the Great Fire of 1740 which destroyed many of the buildings in Charleston’s French Quarter. In 1809, the Planter’s Hotel was built on this site and in 1835 the wrought iron balcony and sandstone columns of the Church Street facade were added. A number of notable persons worked and patronized the Planter’s Hotel including the noted 19th Century actor Junius Brutus Booth (father of Edwin and John Wilkes Booth). Robert Smalls, an African-American Civil War hero, who stole a steamboat in the harbor and sailed it out past the Confederate-held Ft. Sumter and turned it over to the blockading Union Fleet, served as a waiter in the hotel’s dining room prior to the war. Charleston’s famed Planter’s Punch was first introduced here.

After the Civil War, the Planter’s Hotel fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition. But in 1935, after Milton Pearlstine made the property available to the City of Charleston and at the urging of Mayor Burnet Maybank and other notable citizens, the original building became a Depression Era WPA (Works Progress Administration) project. At that time, the present theatre was constructed within the shell of the

Planter’s Hotel. The hotel’s grand foyer became the grand foyer of the theatre and the hotel’s dining room now serves as the box office lobby. The beautiful woodwork and mantels of the second floor drawing room were salvaged from the Radcliffe-King Mansion (circa 1799) which stood at the corner of George and Meeting Streets and was razed to build the College of Charleston gymnasium, another WPA project. Modeled on eighteenth century London playhouses by Charleston architect Albert Simons, the present Dock Street Theatre’s new stage house and auditorium were built in the hotel’s courtyard. The local carpenters who were put to work as a part of this Depression era relief effort utilized locally grown and milled native black cypress for the beautiful warm wooden interior. Following this $350,000 renovation, The Historic Dock Street Theatre’s second grand opening took place on November 26, 1937. Notables in the audience included author DuBose Heyward (Porgy) who was named writer-inresidence.

The Historic Dock Street Theatre reopened for the third time on March 18, 2010 after a three year, $19 million dollar renovation by the City of Charleston. This extensive fullscale renovation brought the historic theatre into the 21st century with state-of-theart lighting and sound, modern heating and air conditioning, and new restrooms and seating. In addition, the theatre was made seismically secure and fully handicapped accessible. Extensive sound-proofing was added to ensure that outside noises no longer intruded on performances inside.