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John Tartaglia, the adorable star of the Tony-bound Avenue QJ
talks about the second job he's taken on since coming out:
ambassador of gay understanding By Michael Gillz
or star John Tartaglia, coming
out in The Advocate right be
fore his first musical , Avenue Q,
opened on Broadway-to the
best reviews of any musical this
season-turned out to be both no big
deal and the smartest thing he ever did.
"When I first did the article for The
Advocate ," says 26-year-old Tartaglia, "I
was really nervous because, well, I'm not really a name at all. I don't have any
exposure, This is my first national mag
azine. What if I hurt my career? And the
funny thing is, it's helped me more than
anything else."
Indeed, he and the Avenue Q puppet
Rod-who's a closeted gay Republi
can-have become ambassadors not
just for the word-of-mouth hit about
puppets and people starting out in life
THE ADVOCATE 162 I MAY 25, 2004 on New York's lower east side but also
for the gay community at large. With
Avenue Q a favorite to earn a passel of
Tony nominations on May 10, that pop
ularity is only likely to increase.
Tartaglia and Rod have appeared on
Hollywood Squares and in a solo spot
light for the actor at the Ars Nova
Broadway Spotlight series. Tartaglia
has also been asked to host or appear
in events like the Broadway Cares/Eq
uity Fights AIDS benefit, the Broadway
Bares show, the Easter Bonnet benefit,
New Faces of Broadway at Carnegie
Hall (with costar Stephanie D'Abruz
zo), the local Emmys, and even a Neil
Sedaka tribute.
Job offers for voice-over work in ani
mation and possible movie and TV
deals have also been forthcoming,
though after a year Tartaglia is having
such fun performing in Avenue Q, both
off-Broadway and on, that he's not
ready to walk away yet.
Avenue Q's good karma has also
rubbed off on the show's director, Jason
Moore-who is also out and has been
deluged with offers, including a starry
Broadway revival of Steel Magnolias in
the fall, a TV movie musical version of
The Hunchhack oj Notre Dame with out
producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron
(The Reagans, Chicago), and a series
development deal with Fox.
The 33-year-old director says it's
been a trippy delight seeing Tartaglia
and Rod become so popular.
"Seeing Rod on CNN," says Moore,
"that was one of my favorite moments,
especially when the ticker read [the
name of the character) 'Mrs. Thistlet
wat.' " Tartaglia was already attached to
the project when Moore joined, but the
director quickly saw how special his af
fable star was.
"He's an exceptionally , especially tal
ented kid," says Moore. "That's why he
can carry the show. I'm just thrilled
people are recognizing him for all he
has to offer."
Avenue Q has certainly proved to be
a desirable address for its star.
"It's opened a lot of doors for me,"
says Tartaglia. "A year and a half ago I
was walking down Broadway and look
ing up at the theaters and thinking, Oh,
my God, that's my dream to be there. I
was just praying that someday I'd get to
walk through the stage door and work
at a Broadway theater."
As he points out, the puppets
make this show one of the few
where the characters make
sense outside of the show.
(You wouldn't want Mama
Rose hosting an awards event,
would you?) And the popularity
of Rod in particular is no sur
prise to Tartaglia.
"Rod's story line appeals so
much to people," he says. "Not
only is he such a sweet and sym
pathetic character, but even if
you have no experience with
gay people at all, you can still
relate to him. Everyone has a
part of themselves they struggle
to be honest about."
Together, the relaxed gay
leading man and the anxious
gay puppet on his sleeve send a
powerful message about the re
wards of being out. And Tar
taglia takes every opportunity to
communicate that message in
person. One of his favorite ap
pearances was True Colors, a
weekend retreat for gay and les-Tartaglia with gay Avenue Q puppet Rod: changing hearts and minds bian kids and their families and
friends in Connecticut.
"Being up in Connecticut was
really a wake-up call," says
Tartaglia. "Here I am in my 20s
worried about being open, and
here are these kids who are, like,
14 and saying, 'Yeah, I'm gay.' It
was really amazing. There were
about 1,500 kids and their fami
lies or friends. [I walked] through
this college campus and sawall
these kids who are 13 to 21, and if
they're not out, they're question
ing. And it was just joy. There
were no kids being harassed be
cause they were different. No one
was left out. It was very emotion
al for me because of how beauti
ful it is that it exists."
Here's hoping that Tartaglia
and Rod have another emotional
moment on June 10, when the
Tony awards are handed out .•
Giltz is a regular contributor to
several periodicals, including
the New York Post.
John Tartaglia, the adorable star of the Tony-bound Avenue QJ
talks about the second job he's taken on since coming out:
ambassador of gay understanding By Michael Gillz
or star John Tartaglia, coming
out in The Advocate right be
fore his first musical , Avenue Q,
opened on Broadway-to the
best reviews of any musical this
season-turned out to be both no big
deal and the smartest thing he ever did.
"When I first did the article for The
Advocate ," says 26-year-old Tartaglia, "I
was really nervous because, well, I'm not really a name at all. I don't have any
exposure, This is my first national mag
azine. What if I hurt my career? And the
funny thing is, it's helped me more than
anything else."
Indeed, he and the Avenue Q puppet
Rod-who's a closeted gay Republi
can-have become ambassadors not
just for the word-of-mouth hit about
puppets and people starting out in life
THE ADVOCATE 162 I MAY 25, 2004 on New York's lower east side but also
for the gay community at large. With
Avenue Q a favorite to earn a passel of
Tony nominations on May 10, that pop
ularity is only likely to increase.
Tartaglia and Rod have appeared on
Hollywood Squares and in a solo spot
light for the actor at the Ars Nova
Broadway Spotlight series. Tartaglia
has also been asked to host or appear
in events like the Broadway Cares/Eq
uity Fights AIDS benefit, the Broadway
Bares show, the Easter Bonnet benefit,
New Faces of Broadway at Carnegie
Hall (with costar Stephanie D'Abruz
zo), the local Emmys, and even a Neil
Sedaka tribute.
Job offers for voice-over work in ani
mation and possible movie and TV
deals have also been forthcoming,
though after a year Tartaglia is having
such fun performing in Avenue Q, both
off-Broadway and on, that he's not
ready to walk away yet.
Avenue Q's good karma has also
rubbed off on the show's director, Jason
Moore-who is also out and has been
deluged with offers, including a starry
Broadway revival of Steel Magnolias in
the fall, a TV movie musical version of
The Hunchhack oj Notre Dame with out
producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron
(The Reagans, Chicago), and a series
development deal with Fox.
The 33-year-old director says it's
been a trippy delight seeing Tartaglia
and Rod become so popular.
"Seeing Rod on CNN," says Moore,
"that was one of my favorite moments,
especially when the ticker read [the
name of the character) 'Mrs. Thistlet
wat.' " Tartaglia was already attached to
the project when Moore joined, but the
director quickly saw how special his af
fable star was.
"He's an exceptionally , especially tal
ented kid," says Moore. "That's why he
can carry the show. I'm just thrilled
people are recognizing him for all he
has to offer."
Avenue Q has certainly proved to be
a desirable address for its star.
"It's opened a lot of doors for me,"
says Tartaglia. "A year and a half ago I
was walking down Broadway and look
ing up at the theaters and thinking, Oh,
my God, that's my dream to be there. I
was just praying that someday I'd get to
walk through the stage door and work
at a Broadway theater."
As he points out, the puppets
make this show one of the few
where the characters make
sense outside of the show.
(You wouldn't want Mama
Rose hosting an awards event,
would you?) And the popularity
of Rod in particular is no sur
prise to Tartaglia.
"Rod's story line appeals so
much to people," he says. "Not
only is he such a sweet and sym
pathetic character, but even if
you have no experience with
gay people at all, you can still
relate to him. Everyone has a
part of themselves they struggle
to be honest about."
Together, the relaxed gay
leading man and the anxious
gay puppet on his sleeve send a
powerful message about the re
wards of being out. And Tar
taglia takes every opportunity to
communicate that message in
person. One of his favorite ap
pearances was True Colors, a
weekend retreat for gay and les-Tartaglia with gay Avenue Q puppet Rod: changing hearts and minds bian kids and their families and
friends in Connecticut.
"Being up in Connecticut was
really a wake-up call," says
Tartaglia. "Here I am in my 20s
worried about being open, and
here are these kids who are, like,
14 and saying, 'Yeah, I'm gay.' It
was really amazing. There were
about 1,500 kids and their fami
lies or friends. [I walked] through
this college campus and sawall
these kids who are 13 to 21, and if
they're not out, they're question
ing. And it was just joy. There
were no kids being harassed be
cause they were different. No one
was left out. It was very emotion
al for me because of how beauti
ful it is that it exists."
Here's hoping that Tartaglia
and Rod have another emotional
moment on June 10, when the
Tony awards are handed out .•
Giltz is a regular contributor to
several periodicals, including
the New York Post.