A success on his hands

“It’s nice being here in L.A.,” John Tartaglia says, with visible relief. “People look at me as an actor first.”

If this comment sounds strange in a city that worships the pursuit of stardom, perhaps that’s because it comes from an actor whose professional reputation has, until recently, been eclipsed by cloth-covered hand puppets.

Now, after a 10-year stint as a puppeteer on “Sesame Street,” Tartaglia is finally earning recognition for his other performing talents, thanks to “Avenue Q,” the Broadway musical in which he acts, sings and dances while manning two of the show’s puppet characters.

At 26, the fresh-faced, quick-witted Tartaglia makes an ideal poster boy for “Avenue Q’s” incongruous mix of streetwise skepticism and feel-good exuberance. His energetic stage presence drives many of the show’s hilarious and often outrageous songs about the tribulations of twentysomethings coping with adult responsibilities in a rundown neighborhood where you live when “you can’t afford to live anywhere else.”

Performed with live actors and puppets (the latter operated in full view by Tartaglia and three fellow veteran “Sesame Street” puppeteers), “Avenue Q” is sometimes characterized as a parody of the long-running PBS series -- a label Tartaglia is quick to disavow.

“It’s much more than a parody,” he explains during a recent visit to Los Angeles to tape a “Hollywood Squares” appearance with one of his puppet characters. “That was a term we used promoting the show at first, because it was an easy way to describe it. But in some ways it ended up painting us into a corner. It has elements of parody, but there’s a lot more to it than its comedic value -- or its puppets.”

More accurately, “Avenue Q” applies the widely imprinted vocabulary of “Sesame Street” and children’s television -- the cute puppets, perky songs, colorful educational graphics -- to the grown-up theme of weathering disillusionment. Improbably, yet with remarkable success, the show wraps themes of poverty, sexual confusion, racism and existential angst in sunny, hummable songs that leave audiences grinning on their way out the door. This broad acceptance is all the more surprising given the show’s edgy, often racy language and subject matter. (“Full puppet nudity!” warns a sign prominently displayed in front of the Golden Theatre -- a tongue-in-cheek caution, since the show’s puppets, like their “Sesame Street” cousins, exist only from the waist up.)

Still, the abundant profanity and a suggestively steamy puppet sex scene limit the show’s suitability to more mature audiences. “We break that barrier very quickly,” Tartaglia pointed out. In the opening number, an obscenity is uttered in exasperation by boyfriend-less Kate Monster, the furry kindergarten teacher heroine played by Tartaglia’s fellow “Sesame Street” alum Stephanie D’Abruzzo. After the initial shock of hearing a puppet swear, he says, audiences adapt quickly. “It’s funny that what gets the most attention in the media is always the puppet sex or the puppets cursing, but that’s really such a small part of the show. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I thought it was going to be two hours of puppet sex,’ when it’s only a three-minute scene.”

Gratuitous shock value was never the intent of Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, the show’s creators, Tartaglia adds. “It’s not like we set out with the idea of ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be hysterical to have puppets curse and drink and have sex’ -- I don’t think I would have done the show if that’s all it was, because that’s just cheap. We were doing a show about twentysomethings living in New York City and of course that’s how they talk, and of course they’re going to have sex and do the things that those people do at that point in their lives.”

The show’s ingenious use of puppets gives its sometimes provocative content a comic veneer. “If Stephanie and I were to sing ‘You’re a little bit racist’ up there by ourselves, people would be throwing things. Puppets allow you to get away with a lot of taboo subjects. People tend to be a lot more forgiving.”

Social commentary through puppetry is a tradition that goes back to the Punch and Judy shows of medieval Europe and long before that in African societies. “It’s funny, but we’re the only country that doesn’t look at puppetry as an art. Now we’re starting to, but up until very recently puppeteering was looked at as birthday party material. As brilliant and as wonderful as children’s television’s use of puppets has been in making them a staple of American life, it’s also in some ways limited the art.”

While that stigma still endures, Tartaglia hopes “Avenue Q” is helping to change it.

Judging from the show’s broad appeal, he’s getting his wish. The story focuses on people in their 20s and 30s, but Tartaglia says audiences of all ages find it easy to identify with the characters. “They don’t represent any particular race or religion or ethnic background, so it’s easier to project your emotions [onto them],” he says.

Just as important, audiences also relate to the life quandaries his primary characters depict. Princeton, a recent college graduate, is entering the job market with a useless degree in English and nary a clue as to his purpose in life. Tartaglia’s other lead role is Rod, an uptight, closeted gay investment banker whose story line hits a universal theme of “being an outsider and scared of revealing who you truly are because of what others may think.” But beyond that, Tartaglia adds, “Any situation where you have to start over again -- getting fired or divorced -- these are places we visit where everyone’s been.”

In the aftermath of Sept. 11, it’s easy to identify with characters trying to find their footing in a scary, unfamiliar world. Although “Avenue Q” predates the Trade Center attacks, the show’s tone of cautious optimism makes it particularly timely. “The show is saying, ‘Even when you’re at your deepest, darkest moment and you may not know what’s going to happen, you can still find something to feel hopeful about.’ But where most musicals end either tragically or happily ever after, in ours not everything gets tied up in a neat little bow.”

TV was the original venue

Though it plays like a pure work of theater, “Avenue Q” was originally conceived as a television pilot. “When we did the first reading [in 2000],” Tartaglia recalls, “it had four of Robert and Jeff’s songs, none of which were character-based. At the time, there was no real story line, just the idea of a grown-up version of children’s television.”Early workshop performances caught the interest of producers Jeffrey Seller and Kevin McCollum (“Rent”), and Robyn Goodman (“Metamorphoses”), who suggested the work had potential as a stage musical and provided development funding. Book writer Jeff Whitty and director Jason Moore were brought in, and Lopez and Marx opened up their score with additional plot-driven pop ballads and ensemble numbers that marry adult conflicts to sunny, hummable melodies reminiscent of children’s TV shows. After a successful run off-Broadway, “Avenue Q” landed on Broadway within four years.

And a tour? “There’s definitely a huge interest in it,” Tartaglia says. “They’re currently evaluating touring possibilities. But no decisions have been made yet.”

“Avenue Q” co-creator Lopez credits Tartaglia for shaping the voices, mannerisms and personalities of the two characters he plays: the jobless college graduate, Princeton, and Rod, the uptight closeted Republican investment broker. “He was our inspiration,” Lopez said. “As soon as he took over the roles, we heard his voices in our heads. It made it easy to write the dialogue for him. As the characters evolved, Princeton went from wimpy to more robust, and Rod got more flamboyant and fun -- that was 100% Johnny.”

Being onstage and performing as the characters along with their puppets has brought new stature for Tartaglia and his costars. Last year, Tartaglia’s talent caught the eye of Henry Winkler, who co-produces “Hollywood Squares” with Michael Levitt. Winkler, himself a Broadway veteran, saw “Avenue Q” and, despite the show’s primarily (as yet) regional fame, made sure that Tartaglia was booked for “Squares.” (His segments will air April 19-23.)

The celebrity treatment he received on his whirlwind L.A. visit to tape the show is a testament to Tartaglia’s changing fortunes. The actor recalls that before “Avenue Q,” he would audition for roles only to find himself never taken seriously because of the extensive puppeteering on his resume. “It always grates a little when people say, ‘Oh, you’re a puppeteer and an actor.’ I think they’re one and the same in so many ways. I’d have to explain that I’m an actor who happens to have puppetry skills. Like fencing skills or equestrian skills, or working with masks.”

Acting, singing and puppetry have been lifelong equal passions for Tartaglia, who grew up in a performing arts household in Maple Shade, N.J. His father was a pianist; his mother, an actress who worked in a talent agency, used to book him as a child actor in commercials and regional musicals.

At the same time, he began developing his puppetry skills. “As a kid I was always fascinated by inanimate things coming to life,” he says. “Everything from children’s television to robotic shows at Chuck E. Cheese.” When he was 8, Tartaglia discovered Henson’s “Fraggle Rock” TV series. “Everything I loved to do was combined in this art -- acting, singing, voice, dancing, and even sculpting the puppets.”

He began building his own puppets and replicating the show’s performance style so successfully that at 16, while attending high school after moving to Upper Dublin, Pa., he was hired to work on “Sesame Street” during school holidays, weekends and summers. Upon graduation, he was offered a full-time job on the series, which he accepted even though it meant turning down a drama scholarship at the University of Maryland (the same college Henson attended). The stint on “Sesame Street” ultimately led to his being cast in “Avenue Q.”

From its inception, “Avenue Q” has been fueled by affection for Henson’s legacy, and that continues to be the secret of its universal appeal, Tartaglia maintains. “If anything, it’s a 2 1/2-hour commercial for children’s television saying, ‘Look how great it was.’ It takes you back to that place in your heart.”

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Rod speaks up

With all the attention John Tartaglia has been getting, his “Avenue Q” costar, Rod, would be green with envy -- if he weren’t already blue. As a fully vested partner in the show’s success, Rod was eager to offer his views on the cloth-covered life.

How are you liking L.A., Rod?

I’m loving L.A.! It is a hot city. I’m working on my tan -- I don’t know if you can see it or not, but I’ve gone from aqua to teal. Of course, sunbathing can be kind of dangerous for me, I might catch fire. Kind of scary, so I load up with SPF 90 sun block.

Have you seen any of the sights?

Yes, I love the fact that Disneyland is so close -- my people are there! I’m going to try to get a part-time job as one of the dolls in “It’s a Small World” -- sing just the one song over and over again, great benefits, free food at the food court.

How was being on “Hollywood Squares”?

They treated me like a star! I was the upper right square -- I got to help people win a truck. It was me and Danny Bonaduce and Arianna Huffington.

So I guess all your apprehensions about coming out were unfounded?

It was no big deal. I think more people should do it. I’m just more free now, much happier. I can go order my soy latte at Starbucks and not think people are looking at me funny. I’ve discovered I have a great community: I have a lot of friends on “Avenue Q” who support me; I have a great therapist, and now being in a Broadway show I’ve just met so many great artists. I don’t want to shock you, but there’s a lot of gays on Broadway! Besides, I’m a puppet. It’s not like I really have a choice -- I’m either gay or I’m not -- it’s up to him [pointing to Tartaglia].

But aren’t we all puppets, in a way?

Yes, we’re all manipulated somehow ... but ... I’d better not go there. L.A. Times readers might not like to hear it....