Jump to content

John Tartaglia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Tartaglia
Born
John Nicholas Tartaglia

(1978-02-16) February 16, 1978 (age 46)[1]
Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesJohn Nicholas Tartaglia
Jonathan Nicholas Tartaglia
Occupations
  • Puppeteer
  • actor
  • singer
Years active1994–present
Spouse
Michael Shawn Lewis
​
​
(m. 2012; div. 2016)​

John Nicholas Tartaglia (/tɑːrˈtæɡliə/;[2] born February 16, 1978)[1] is an American puppeteer, actor, and singer.

Early life[edit]

Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey,[3] and graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1996.[1]

Tartaglia joined Sesame Street's puppetry team in a part-time capacity at the age of 16, making him one of the youngest Sesame Street puppeteers in the show's history. He performed as a right hand and many minor characters, including Phoebe, and was the understudy for Kevin Clash's Elmo. He performed as Ernie for the second season of Play with Me Sesame and as Oscar the Grouch for Sesame Street 4D. Tartaglia was also a digital puppeteer for the "Elmo's World" segments and performed the character Tingo on Sesame English. He became a full-time part of Sesame Street at the age of 18.[3]

Career[edit]

In 2003, Tartaglia performed as DJ 2 in Animal Jam. He created and puppeteered the roles of Princeton and Rod in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Avenue Q, which opened on July 31, 2003.[4] He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2004 and left the cast on January 30, 2005.[5][6] Tartaglia reprised these roles in the Las Vegas production of Avenue Q from August to December 2005. He then appeared in Newsical 2006: The Next Edition in December 2005.[7]

In 2006, Tartaglia joined the cast of Beauty and the Beast as Lumière until June 2007. He created, executive produced, and starred in the Playhouse Disney short series Johnny and the Sprites, which expanded to a full 30-minute series on January 13, 2007.[5][8][9] In 2007, Tartaglia provided the voice for Mr. Bluelight in Kmart commercials.[10]

Tartaglia played Pinocchio, Puss in Boots, and the Magic Mirror, and puppeteered the dragon in Shrek The Musical.[5] [11] The show opened on Broadway on December 14, 2008. Tartaglia performed until August 16, 2009, returned on December 14, 2009, and stayed until the production closed on January 3, 2010.

He created and wrote John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean, which ran Off-Broadway at New World Stages from March 31, 2010, to September 4, 2011.[12] The show, featuring glow-in-the-dark puppets, was nominated for the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[12]

Tartaglia performed in The Temperamentals at the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles from April 9 to May 22, 2011.[13][14] He appeared at the 14th annual Broadway Bares in 2004, which raised $525,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[15]

Tartaglia played Genie in the production of Aladdin at The Muny in St. Louis from July 5–13, 2012.[16] In 2011, he was named a "Givenik Ambassador" by the Broadway/charity site Givenik. Tartaglia hosted a radio show on Sirius XM On Broadway called Sunday Funday with John Tartaglia.[17] In 2016, he created the PBS Kids series Splash and Bubbles, voicing Splash and other recurring characters.[18] In 2017, he performed Hank in the Netflix series Julie's Greenroom.[19]

In January 2024, it was announced that Tartaglia had joined The Jim Henson Company's development team as creative supervisor of future Fraggle Rock projects, in addition to contributing to the development and production of new television and live show projects for the company.[20]

Personal life[edit]

Tartaglia is gay. Regarding the matter, he has stated "I'm less worried about being a positive role model as a gay person than making sure there are no negative stereotypes of any sort."

He considers "nothing more addictive than the sound of an audience laughing" and, regarding the possibility of being "pigeonholed" as a children's entertainer, stated, "If I get pigeonholed, I get pigeonholed. When I do my dark, one-hour miniseries on Lifetime, you'll know!"[21]

In 2004, he helped to raise $525,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[22]

Tartaglia married Michael Shawn Lewis in New York in 2012.[23] They divorced in 2016.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Stage[edit]

Year Title Role Theatre Notes
2003 Avenue Q Princeton/Rod Vineyard Theatre Original
John Golden Theatre
2006–2007 Beauty and the Beast Lumiere Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Replacement
2008 Shrek Pinocchio, Magic Mirror 5th Avenue Theatre Original
2008–2009 Broadway Theatre
2012 Aladdin Genie The Muny

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Heller, Karen (September 21, 2003). "From 'Sesame Street' to Broadway". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2013. Young John, who grew up in Maple Shade and then Ambler, wrote Jim Henson a fan letter.
  2. ^ "An Interview with Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock's John Tartaglia!!". YouTube.
  3. ^ a b "John Tartaglia". IMDb. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  4. ^ Gans, Andrew (June 29, 2009). "Avenue Q to Close in September". Playbill. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "John Tartaglia Broadway" playbillvault.com, accessed January 4, 2016
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew; Hernandez, Ernio (December 27, 2004). "Tartaglia to Depart Avenue Q Jan. 30". Playbill.
  7. ^ Hernandez, Ernio (November 16, 2005). "John Tartaglia Comes Back to New York for Newsical 2006: The Next Edition". Playbill.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (November 13, 2006). "Tartaglia and Freeman to Join Broadway's Beauty and the Beast". Playbill.
  9. ^ "John Tartaglia, Jonathan Freeman to Join Beauty and the Beast". Broadway.com. November 13, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Mr. Bluelight". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Brian d'Arcy James to play Shrek". USA Today. March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Review: 'The Temperamentals' at The Blank Theatre Company"[permanent dead link] Los Angeles Magazine, June 1, 2011
  14. ^ Gans, Andrew (March 3, 2011). "John Tartaglia, Erich Bergen, Patrick Scott Lewis Set for Blank Theatre Company's Temperamentals". Playbill.
  15. ^ Lenzi, Linda (June 24, 2004). "Photo Coverage: Broadway Bares 14: Now Showing". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  16. ^ Gans, Andrew (July 5, 2012). "Aladdin, with Robin de Jesus, John Tartaglia, Curtis Holbrook, Francis Jue, Plays the Muny Starting July 5". Playbill.
  17. ^ "On Broadway". SiriusXM. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 21, 2016). "PBS KIDS Dates Premiere for Henson's 'Splash and Bubbles'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  19. ^ Robbins, Caryn (April 23, 2017). "John Tartaglia Gushes Over Netflix Co-Star Julie Andrews, Talks Broadway Return Hopes & More!". BroadwayWorld.
  20. ^ Company, The Jim Henson. "EMMY AND TONY-NOMINATED JOHN TARTAGLIA JOINS THE JIM HENSON COMPANY". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  21. ^ Riegel, Katie (March 19, 2007). "Broadway Buzz - John Tartaglia". Broadway.com. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  22. ^ "John Tartaglia | The Official Masterworks Broadway Site". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  23. ^ Wong, Curtis M. (September 6, 2013). "John Tartaglia, 'Avenue Q' Star, Gets Personal With 'Decade Three' Show At NYC's 54 Below". The Huffington Post.

External links[edit]

Preceded by Gobo Fraggle
2013-present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Phoebe
2002 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Sprocket
2021-present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Gunge
2022-present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Architect Doozer
2022-present 		Succeeded by
None
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Tartaglia&oldid=1233237957"