Video: John Tartaglia Talks FRAGGLE ROCK Holiday Special and Fraggle Broadway Dreams

No one celebrates the holidays like the Fraggles, and no one knows the Fraggles like puppeteer John Tartaglia. In addition to his longtime involvement with the franchise, Tartaglia has a rich background onstage, having received a Tony nomination for his performance in Avenue Q and originating several roles in Shrek the Musical, among other Broadway credits.

He has worked with The Jim Henson Company for several years and is currently the Creative Supervisor of Fraggle Rock, overseeing the beloved franchise that was originally created by Henson himself.

As a performer, one of his characters is Gobo Fraggle, who is at the center of the new special holiday, The First Snow of Fraggle Rock. The special follows Gobo as he makes his first journey to the human world, Outer Space (also known as Earth), when his holiday plans don't go as expected.

"We've kind of teased Gobo going to Outer Space in both seasons of Back to the Rock...We wanted to make it a true special and so one of the first things we decided was, 'It's time for Gobo to finally go to Outer Space and really experience, not just Outer Space like at Doc's office, but truly our world out in the open. It was a big decision, because it's definitely a step forward for the character and for the show, but we felt like it was the right time to do it."

One of the themes in the special is finding joy and meaning in new holiday traditions, which was an important lesson for Tartaglia and the writers to tell. "We were sharing stories about our holiday experiences growing up and how they're different now. Things have changed, and... I think it was important to share with families that just because it's not the thing you did before doesn't mean that it's not going to be maybe even better."

Tartaglia also teased if a Broadway appearance could be in the Fraggles' future. "I have big dreams for them and could see the Fraggles doing a limited run at the Palace Theatre, Red sitting on the edge of the stage singing her best Judy Garland. Come on, we could do it!"

Watch the full interview with Tartaglia here, and check out our interview about the special with Gobo himself. The First Snow of Fraggle Rock arrives on Apple TV this Friday, December 5.