Photo by Paul Ruffolo
First Stage's "Last Stop on Market Street"
Madison Jones and Samantha D. Montgomery in First Stage's "Last Stop on Market Street"
First Stage welcomes audiences in a colorful metropolitan journey with its stage adaptation of Matt de la Peña’s acclaimed 2015 children’s book Last Stop on Market Street. The casually elegant Samantha D. Montgomery plays a wise and thoughtful woman on a cross-town bus trip with her grandson CJ. Without much to occupy himself, CJ might expect the trip to be dull. Before the journey starts, he’s given a riddle to solve. Before it ends, he’s got a whole lot of interesting people to meet. Things are going to be a bit more entertaining than he might expect.
The idea that there might be magic in anything can be cloying, especially in a children’s show. Last Stop on Market Street swiftly avoids unearned sentimentality. Director Johamy Morales breathes a genuine sense of wonder into a production that manages to pack the rich diversity of a metropolitan area into the endearing warmth of a story that’s unafraid to look into those dealing with varying levels of poverty
Scenic and lighting designer Arnold Bueso presents a textured urban environment for the production which feels rich and engaging without feeling cluttered or overwhelming. Presented in the round, a circular stage asserts itself as a stylized graffitied crosswalk laden with various colorful boxes that are moved about the space as CJ and Nana make their way to their final destination. Costume designer Jazmin Aurora Medina amplifies the sense of wonder with multiple different design elements that allow nearly every actor in the ensemble to casually slip into multiple roles along the periphery of the journey. Morales and company pack quite a lot into a cozy, little hour onstage.
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First Stage’s production of Last Stop on Market Street runs through June 12 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W. Walnut St. For more information, visit firststage.org.
Photo by Paul Ruffolo
First Stage's "Last Stop on Market Street"
Allie Babich and Christian Berman in First Stage's "Last Stop on Market Street"
