''John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean'' is an

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical about fish. It was written by and stars

John Tartaglia John Nicholas Tartaglia (; born February 16, 1978) is an American puppeteer, actor, and singer. Early life Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, i ...

, whose previous theatre acting credits include ''

Avenue Q '' Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and a book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody ...

'' and ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. The show played at

New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

, which is also where the show that launched his career, ''Avenue Q'', played. The book is by Tartaglia, and the musical score is by William Wade. Like ''Avenue Q'', ''ImaginOcean'' utilizes

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

, but unlike that show, ''ImaginOcean'' is aimed at children and the actors performing the

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

s are not seen onstage. The idea for ''ImaginOcean'' came about when show creator John Tartaglia took a snorkeling trip in the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

. The show was originally performed on the Royal Caribbean ship ''

Oasis of the Seas ''Oasis of the Seas'' is a cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. She is the first of her class, the ''Oasis'' class, whose ships were the largest passenger ships in the world, until surpassed in 2023 by the ''Icon'' class. Her ...

'' before moving to New World Stages. According to a ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' interview, two foreign productions, a national tour, and a film adaptation of the show were planned. In June 2023, the show opened at

SeaWorld San Antonio SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium and animal theme park in the Westover Hills District of San Antonio, Texas, on the city's west side. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned and operated by U ...

in the Sea Star Theater, running multiple performances a day. The show utilizes blacklight sets and lighting as well as puppets with fabrics that work well with blacklight, giving the illusion that the puppets are floating against the black background. As such, the show is marketed as the first "glow-in-the-dark" musical.

Characters

*Dorsel - A green show fish who is afraid of germs and trying new things. *Tank - An orange anglerfish who is one of Dorsel's best friends *Bubbles - A rainbow fish who is one of Dorsel's best friends *Leonard - A magenta and purple octopus who Dorsel meets after he gets separated from Tank and Bubbles. *Ripple - A seahorse who serves as the protector of Seaweed Scuttle.

Synopsis

verture.Tank, Dorsel and Bubbles are playing when they discover a treasure map. They decide to follow it to find the treasure and they are led to Shell Reef. n Our Way.When they get there, Tank saves a baby jellyfish from being stuck under a rock and in return, the jellyfish family throws a party. ellyfish Jive.On their way to the next location on the map, they lose their way and have to decide which arrow to follow to get to Seaweed Scuttle. hich Way To Turn.They eventually figure out which the direction to go and arrive at their next destination. At Seaweed Scuttle, the fish trio meet the protector, a seahorse named Ripple. Ripple informs them that the only way they can pass through is to use their imagination. magination. Tank, Bubbles and Ripple get sucked away by a giant wave leaving Dorsel alone and scared. Dorsel is initially frightened by an octopus named Leonard, before the two become friends. Leonard enlists Dorsel to help him retrieve his favorite pebble that fell down a small cave. Dorsel overcomes his fear and travels through the cave and successfully gets the pebble. ust A Stones Throw Away. Leonard is so thankful to Dorsel that he offers to help him find Tank and Bubbles. n Our Way, RepriseThey find the treasure chest and instead of gold, diamonds or rubies, they learn that the true treasure is their friendship. inale.

Songs

*Overture *On Our Way *Jellyfish Jive *Which Way to Turn *Imagination *Just a Stone's Throw Away *On Our Way (Reprise) *Finale

Tour

''ImaginOcean'' first and third tours remained in the United States, with the second traveling overseas.

Notable cast members

* Dorsel (voiced by

): Ryan Dillon, David Corris, Nate Begle, Arlee Chadwick * Tank (voiced by Tartaglia): James Wojtal, Jr, Jonathan Carlucci, Weston Long * Bubbles (voiced by Donna Drake): Stacey Weingarten, Haley Jenkins, Emily Tucker,

Meghan Miller Meghan S. Miller is a Canadian geoscientist based in Australia, who studies the structural and dynamical evolution of the Earth. She is a professor in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University and the program l ...

* Ripple (voiced by Michael Shawn Lewis) and Leonard (voiced by Tartaglia): Lara MacLean, Daniel Eli Becker, Drew Torkelson * Baby Jellyfish (voiced by Michael Shawn Lewis): Carole D'Agostino, Emily Tucker, Leanne Brunn * Whipper (voiced by Tartaglia): Jonathan Carlucci, Matthew Wojtal * Snapper (voiced by Tartaglia): Brian Carson, Ben Durocher, Christina Stone

References

External links

Official Website (Archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Tartaglia's Imaginocean Off-Broadway musicals Plays featuring puppetry