John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean to Close Off-Broadway 9/14; Will Embark on National Tour

Dorsel, Tank and Bubbles, along with the rest of the cast of the Drama Desk Award nominated John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean, will pack up its hit New York production in September and head out on a long-anticipated national tour hitting over 30 cities including Los Angeles, Memphis, Tampa, Detroit and Austin. The final performance at New World Stages will be September 4, 2011.

First stop on the tour is October 7 at the Jasper Arts Center in Jasper, IN, followed immediately by performances in Terre Haute, IN; Detroit, MI; New Philadelphia, OH; and Madison, WI. For a complete tour schedule through March 2012, with performances/cities being added every week, visit www.imaginoceanthemusical.com.

In making the announcement, John Tartaglia, creator and co-producer of the show said, "The audience reaction to our show in NY and on the Royal Caribbean ships where we have productions, has been incredible. We want to share ImaginOcean with families all over the country and have everyone from Texas and Ohio, Florida and California, Indiana and Michigan, and beyond, meet Dorsel, Tank and Bubbles. We will always schedule performances back in NYC as well throughout the tour."

ImaginOcean is a one-of-a-kind, innovative glow-in-the-dark musical that opened in New York in March 2010. The 50 minute production features extraordinary puppets, memorable original songs, and a heartwarming journey of discovery by three loveable fish named Tank, Bubbles, and Dorsel who take the audience on their singing, bubbling, jiving adventure, making friends along the way.

ImaginOcean is the brain child of Tartaglia, known to parents and kids for his Tony Award nominated portrayals of Rod/Princeton in the original cast of Avenue Q and his critically acclaimed television show on Disney Channel, Johnny and the Sprites, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. Tartaglia is not only the creator and writer of ImaginOcean, he is also the voice of five of its characters.

The music for John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean was composed by William Wade. The show is produced by Jellyfish Jive Productions, a collaboration of John Tartaglia, Philip Katz, and Michael Shawn Lewis.

New York City performances for ImaginOcean are Wednesdays at 11:00 AM; Saturdays at 11:00 AM; and Sundays at 12 Noon. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased through TeleCharge (212) 239-6200/telecharge.com and at the box office at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street). For groups of nine or more, please contact Group Sales (800-223-7565).

For ticket information for the national tour, visit www.imaginoceanthemusical.com and follow the links to each theatre's website.

Check out the original cast recording on iTunes and through all music outlets.