January 13, 2007 – Johnny and the Sprites Premieres on Disney Channel
“I was just Johnny ‘til I walked through that door, but I’m not just Johnny anymore!”
On January 13, 2007, the live-action show Johnny and the Sprites premiered on Disney Channel. The show, created for preschoolers, features songwriter Johnny T, who discovers a magical world of sprites in the backyard of his great-uncle’s home. The show had originally been shown as five-minute shorts between commercial breaks on Disney Channel, but its overwhelming popularity helped give the show a full-season go ahead. The show was created by and stars John Tartaglia, who is best known for starring in the Broadway musical Avenue Q; the show also features other prominent Broadway composers and actors, including Gary Adler, Bobby Lopez, and Sutton Foster. The show also stars Heather Asch as Root, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Ginger, Tim Lagasse as Basil, Carmen Osbahr as Lily, and Natalie Venetia Belcon as Gwen.
