John Nicholas Tartaglia (/tɑːrˈtæɡliə/;[2] born February 16, 1978)[1] is an American puppeteer, actor, and singer.
John Tartaglia | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Nicholas Tartaglia February 16, 1978[1] |
| Other names | John Nicholas Tartaglia Jonathan Nicholas Tartaglia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Spouse |
Michael Shawn Lewis
(m. 2012; div. 2016) |
Early life
editTartaglia 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. He performed and assisted many minor characters, including Phoebe, and was the understudy for Kevin Clash's Elmo.[4] 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.
Career
editIn 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.[5] He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2004 and left the cast on January 30, 2005.[6][7] 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.[8]
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.[6][9][10] In 2007, Tartaglia provided the voice for Mr. Bluelight in Kmart commercials.[11]
Tartaglia played Pinocchio, Puss in Boots, and the Magic Mirror, and puppeteered the dragon in Shrek The Musical.[6][12] 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.[13] The show, featuring glow-in-the-dark puppets, was nominated for the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[13]
Tartaglia performed in The Temperamentals at the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles from April 9 to May 22, 2011.[14][15] He appeared at the 14th annual Broadway Bares in 2004, which raised $525,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[16]
Tartaglia played Genie in the production of Aladdin at The Muny in St. Louis from July 5–13, 2012.[17] 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.[18] In 2016, he created the PBS Kids series Splash and Bubbles, voicing Splash and other recurring characters.[19] In 2017, he performed Hank in the Netflix series Julie's Greenroom.[20]
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.[21]
Personal life
editTartaglia is gay.[22] In 2012, Tartaglia married Michael Shawn Lewis in New York.[23] They divorced in 2016.
In 2004, he helped to raise $525,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[24]
Filmography
editFilm
edit- Elmopalooza - Additional Puppeteer
- Love the Hard Way - Jack (uncredited)
- Antwone Fisher - Dancer (uncredited)
- Honey 2 - Ballet Dancer
- The Women in Black - Jewelry Salesman (uncredited)
- The Happytime Murders - Additional Voices
Television
edit- Animal Jam - DJ 2
- Bear in the Big Blue House - Additional Puppeteer
- Between the Lions - guest Sesame Street puppeteer (Elmo/Bert "Dance with Smartypants" segments)
- Dog City - Additional Puppeteer
- Play with Me Sesame - Ernie (Season 2)
- Fraggle Rock: Rock On! - Gobo Fraggle (taking over from Jerry Nelson); Boober Fraggle, Uncle Traveling Matt, and Wembley Fraggle (puppetry only)
- Julie's Greenroom - Hank
- Elmo's World: Computer Graphic Puppeteer
- Johnny and the Sprites: Johnny, Sage
- Sesame English: Tingo
- Sesame Street: Alfred Duck, Phoebe (2002), The Great Quackini, Trey, Cookie Monster's Mommy (2004), Brandeis, Safety Chicken, Yip-Yip Martian, Various
- Splash and Bubbles: Splash, Various
- Word Party: Kip the Wallaby (voice)
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Bird, Delivery Man
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 the Musical | Pinocchio, Magic Mirror | 5th Avenue Theatre | Original |
| 2008–2009 | Broadway Theatre | |||
| 2012 | Aladdin | Genie | The Muny |
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "An Interview with Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock's John Tartaglia!!" – via YouTube.
- ^ "John Tartaglia". IMDb. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Roe, Ryan (August 26, 2013). "From Fraggle Fan to Fraggle Man: The John Tartaglia Interview, Part 1". ToughPigs. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (June 29, 2009). "Avenue Q to Close in September". Playbill. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ a b c "John Tartaglia Broadway" playbillvault.com. Retrieved January 4, 2016
- ^ Gans, Andrew; Hernandez, Ernio (December 27, 2004). "Tartaglia to Depart Avenue Q Jan. 30". Playbill.
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio (November 16, 2005). "John Tartaglia Comes Back to New York for Newsical 2006: The Next Edition". Playbill.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (November 13, 2006). "Tartaglia and Freeman to Join Broadway's Beauty and the Beast". Playbill.
- ^ "John Tartaglia, Jonathan Freeman to Join Beauty and the Beast". Broadway.com. November 13, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Mr. Bluelight". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ "Brian d'Arcy James to play Shrek". USA Today. March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Review: 'The Temperamentals' at The Blank Theatre Company"[permanent dead link] Los Angeles Magazine, June 1, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew (March 3, 2011). "John Tartaglia, Erich Bergen, Patrick Scott Lewis Set for Blank Theatre Company's Temperamentals". Playbill.
- ^ Lenzi, Linda (June 24, 2004). "Photo Coverage: Broadway Bares 14: Now Showing". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (July 5, 2012). "Aladdin, with Robin de Jesus, John Tartaglia, Curtis Holbrook, Francis Jue, Plays the Muny Starting July 5". Playbill.
- ^ "On Broadway". SiriusXM. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 21, 2016). "PBS KIDS Dates Premiere for Henson's 'Splash and Bubbles'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Robbins, Caryn (April 23, 2017). "John Tartaglia Gushes Over Netflix Co-Star Julie Andrews, Talks Broadway Return Hopes & More!". BroadwayWorld.
- ^ "Emmy And Tony-Nominated John Tartaglia Joins The Jim Henson Company" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ "Avenue Q's John Tartaglia doing a show for Disney Channel (16322)". advocate.com. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ Wong, Curtis M. (September 6, 2013). "John Tartaglia, 'Avenue Q' Star, Gets Personal With 'Decade Three' Show At NYC's 54 Below". HuffPost.
- ^ "John Tartaglia | The Official Masterworks Broadway Site". The Official Masterworks Broadway Site. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
External links
edit- John Tartaglia at IMDb
- John Tartaglia at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Tartaglia & Michael Shawn Lewis's production company, Gable Grove Productions
- John Tartaglia talks with Craft Ideas Weekly about how he started making puppets
- Stephanie D'Abruzzo and John Tartaglia - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
