A bit corny to repost a lot later but very sentimental and worth posting again....

[Raggy Q poo]

Posted: 6/9/05 at 11:46pm

A bit agao- I was redirected to this and I cried and cried. What a absolutely wonderful person John Tartaglia is. Not only he is talented and cute but soo caring, about everyone! He remembers you, he takes time out of his schdeule to talk to you, he updates his blog (even though he is extremely busy), he is even answering some e-mails.

I again, want to respost this as I think it has been posted before to reiterate what a wonderful person John Tartaglia is. This guy doesn't have a mean bone in his body!


LEAVING AVENUE Q WITH A SENSE OF ‘PURPOSE’
"What do you do when you choose to leave Broadway? What is your life going to be?" Well, Avenue Q's John Tartaglia, 26, will soon find out. First, the adorable actor-puppeteer returns with his hilarious cabaret show, AD-LIBerty, Jan. 3 at 7 and 9:30 PM and Jan. 24 at 7 PM at Joe’s Pub. Dazzlingly directed by Alan Muraoka, it’s a campy mix of Muppets, Mickey Mouse and madcap pop medleys. Then, Tartaglia gets set to exit his Tony winning musical on Jan. 30. Since he gave his very first interview to this column, it was only fitting to revisit this Theater World Award winner who’s got a fine, fine mind and the sweetest soul.

"I’m so lucky and grateful for everything Avenue Q has brought me, but it was time," says the 5-foot-11 performer. "I’m so physically and vocally exhausted. It’s been five years of my life. I know too many jaded Broadway performers, so I want to go out really loving it. Leaving Princeton and Rod is going to be hard. It’s like leaving your children. I have no love for the puppets themselves; physically, they’re tools, and Rick Lyon’s designed beautiful puppets. But I will miss being those characters. They’re not just voices. They’re people I’ve built up from scratch. And I’ll miss my family at the theatre. Our cast is really close, and everyone’s been so supportive. There’s genuine love there. Our crew is the best on Broadway, and our band is amazing."

But don’t think Tartaglia’s hit a dead end with Avenue Q. There’s "talk" that he might open the Vegas production in the fall, and he might return someday to the show at the Golden — or in another Broadway musical: "I’ve always loved Beauty and the Beast and I’d love to be Lumiere. Or Mark in Rent." He recently did a workshop of Zanna, Don’t, "but I hear its [Broadway run] has been postponed." Outside of theatre, what’s his dream job? "People will think I’m nuts, but I’d love to play Goofy at Disney World. I love seeing people happy."

Tartaglia, who would like to have kids someday, also is getting to make one of his "fantasies come true": "I’m developing a children’s show for the Disney Channel. I’ll be performing in it and there’s puppets involved. It’ll be fun and it’ll challenge kids, like ‘Sesame Street.’ A lot of today’s kids’ shows talk down to them. ‘Teletubbies’ drives me crazy. I grew up with ‘Electric Company,’ ‘Fraggle Rock’ and ‘Kids, Inc.’ My show’s gonna be about relationships and feelings. And it’ll have great music, not stuff like ‘I love you, you love me’ [on ‘Barney’]. I’m very protective of kids."

Setting a good example was also a reason why Tartaglia chose to be openly gay: "When I was 15, there was no ‘Ellen’ or ‘Will & Grace.’ I used to cry myself to sleep because I was scared of not knowing who I was. I wish I had had someone to look up to. Actually, a lot of people didn’t want me to come out. They said: ‘You’re going to ruin your career. It’ll ruin the show.’ Well, I’m proud and happy with who I am. You’d be surprised, but there are shows in town with gay characters that celebrate being gay, and they told me: ‘We can’t hire you. You’re too gay.’ What?! It’s funny, but most of my incredible fans are teenaged girls. Being an actor, I’ve never had one person say to me: ‘Yeah, you were great as Rod, but I really can’t believe you as Princeton.’ A casting director asked me if I could play straight roles, and I said: ‘What do you think I play every night?’"

To quote Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx’s wise and witty score to Avenue Q, "Nothing lasts, life goes on." And it’s now official: Barrett Foa, who’s so talented, tells us he’s taking over as Princeton/Rod on Feb. 1. But Tartaglia has left his indelible imprint on the show, whether or not if his hand is in the puppets. He says, "‘For Now’ has taken on a lot of meaning for me, in light of that horrible tsunami, the election and even my leaving. The first time I sang it after I made my decision, I had to stop myself from crying. I love Avenue Q and it’ll always be a part of me."


THANK YOU JOHN!
-Rebecca G.

[jaded_october]

Posted: 6/10/05 at 1:27pm

awww, yeah he's such a sweetheart.

""I’ve always loved Beauty and the Beast and I’d love to be Lumiere. Or Mark in Rent."

i would LOOOOOOOOVE to see him in rent!

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 6/10/05 at 1:32pm

Awww. I [heart] him!