EMMY AND TONY-NOMINATED JOHN TARTAGLIA JOINS THE JIM HENSON COMPANY

Acclaimed Creator, Producer, Writer, Director, and Puppeteer Joins Company in New Position as Creative Supervisor of Fraggle Rock; Will Also Create and Produce New Productions as Part of Television Team

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Jim Henson Company has hired long-time collaborator John Tartaglia, the Tony and Emmy-nominated creator, producer, writer, director, and puppeteer, to join its development team as Creative Supervisor of Fraggle Rock, the iconic property that includes the Emmy-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (currently streaming on Apple TV+), and initiatives across consumer products, social media, live shows, podcasts, and location-based entertainment. Tartaglia’s expansive agreement also includes developing and producing new television and live show projects for the Company. The announcement was made today by Halle Stanford, President of Television, to whom Tartaglia reports.

Tartaglia has been a collaborator with The Jim Henson Company over the last several years on a variety of projects, chief among them serving as an executive producer, writer, director, and puppeteer (Gobo Fraggle, Sprocket, and multiple other characters) on the Emmy-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, which is set to premiere its second season on March 29^th on Apple TV+. Other projects include the TV series Splash and Bubbles for PBS KIDS (for which he served as creator, executive producer, writer, and Emmy-nominated puppeteer), and development projects like The Kissing Hand and the recently announced Monster Jam. Tartaglia has also produced, written, and directed several live shows for the Company including Jim Henson’s Inspired Silliness for Princess Cruises as well as Sid the Science Kid Live, and Dinosaur Train Live. As a puppeteer, Tartaglia has been featured in a range of projects for the Company including Word Party, Julie’s Greenroom, Slumberkins, Happytime Murders, and the live show Puppet Up! – Uncensored.

“John has been an essential part of the recent success of Fraggle Rock not only as an Executive Producer, and star performer of Gobo and Sprocket, but also as the property’s number one fan. In his new role, he is committed to growing the Fraggle franchise into a change-the-world phenomenon.” said Stanford. “John is a multi-talent superstar with his thirty plus years in the industry as a creator, producer, writer, director, and puppeteer. We are thrilled he has joined The Jim Henson Company’s team and is bringing with him his great imagination, big heart, and innovative ideas.”

“Discovering Fraggle Rock as a child sparked in me a love of creativity and joy, and it is honestly the reason I became a puppeteer,” said Tartaglia. “It has been so professionally fulfilling and exciting to be part of the Henson legacy over these last several years and this Company feels like a creative home. It is a real dream come true to be part of Fraggle Rock, and ‘Pass It On’ to a new generation of Fraggle fans.”

About The Jim Henson Company

The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 65 years and is recognized as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics, and digital animation. The Company’s most recent credits include the Oscar®-winning Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix, the Emmy®-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for Apple TV+, and the feature film The Portable Door for MGM+. The Company is currently in post-production on a new reimagining of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day starring Eva Longoria and Cheech Marin for Disney+. Other television credits include Slumberkins, Harriet the Spy and Fraggle Rock: Rock On, all for Apple TV+, Word Party for Netflix, Earth to Ned for Disney+, and the Emmy-winning Netflix Original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Other TV productions include Dinosaur Train (PBS), Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Sid the Science Kid (PBS), and Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), as well as Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, and the sci-fi series Farscape. Feature film credits include The Star (Sony Pictures Animation), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Disney), and the ground-breaking fantasy classics The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.

With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post-production facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative credits include the feature film The Happytime Murders, and the popular live puppet improvisational show Puppet-Up! – Uncensored.

About John Tartaglia

John Tartaglia is an acclaimed actor, director, writer, and puppeteer, Tony-nominated for originating both Rod and Princeton in Broadway’s debut company of Avenue Q. His theatrical directing credits include Stephen Schwartz’s The Secret Silk and Jim Henson’s Inspired Silliness, both for Princess Cruises, Kinky Boots (3d Theatricals), Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Maltz Jupiter Theater), Claudio Quest (six-time winner at NY Musical Theatre Festival, including Best in Fest and Best Director), Shrek The Halls (DreamWorks Theatricals), Because of Winn Dixie (Arkansas Rep and Goodspeed Opera House development) and Jim Henson’s Musical World (Carnegie Hall). 

Most recently, he finished production on the second season of the Emmy-winning Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, serving as an executive producer, writer, and puppet captain, and performing Gobo Fraggle, Architect Doozer, Gunge, Barry Blueberry, and Sprocket the Dog. Other television credits include: several seasons of Sesame Street, Johnny and the Sprites (Emmy-nominated, creator, star and co-executive producer), Ugly Betty, Bear in the Big Blue House, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Silent But Deadly, Hollywood Squares, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Animal Jam, Blues Room, Sesame English, and JoJo’s Circus. 

John has worked many summer seasons at the country’s award-winning, oldest outdoor theater, the St. Louis MUNY, directing such shows as Shrek the Musical, The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, Annie, Matilda, Mary Poppins, and most recently Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Other credits include the national tours of Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train Live and Jim Henson’s Sid the Science Kid Live as well as several shows for Sesame Place, PA. 

John can be heard every Sunday on Sirius XM On Broadway on his show “Sunday Funday with John Tartaglia.”

SOURCE The Jim Henson Company