John_Tartaglia's_ImaginOcean
John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean is an Off Broadway musical about fish. It was written by and stars John Tartaglia, whose previous theatre acting credits include Avenue Q and Beauty and the Beast. The show played at New World Stages, 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, but unlike that show, ImaginOcean is aimed at children and the actors performing the puppets are not seen onstage.
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The idea for ImaginOcean came about when show creator John Tartaglia took a snorkeling trip in the Virgin Islands. The show was originally performed on the Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas before moving to New World Stages. According to a Newsday 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 in the Sea Star Theater, running multiple performances a day.[1] 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.