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‘JOHN TARTAGLIA’S IMAGINOCEAN’

Not many shows in Manhattan ask you to sit down, then shower you twice with bubbles and spritz you with water. At times during “John Tartaglia’s Imaginocean,” it’s hard not to feel kidnapped by a carwash.

But none of this failed to delight small children at a recent performance of this slight but genial hourlong musical, named for its creator, a “Sesame Street” alumnus who may be best known for starring in “Avenue Q” on Broadway. In some ways Mr. Tartaglia hasn’t wandered far: “Imaginocean,” directed by Donna Drake, features Muppet-style aquatic creatures, all expertly manipulated in black light by invisible puppeteers.

The fluorescent undersea population, designed by the Puppet Kitchen, includes an electric eel, some dancing jellyfish, a wise seahorse, a rotund octopus and the fish (above, from left) Bubbles, Dorsel and Tank. (Bubbles is voiced by Ms. Drake; Dorsel and Tank by Mr. Tartaglia.) William Wade’s score and lyrics evoke the variety of “Sesame Street,” with an upbeat anthem (“On Our Way”), a smoky jazz number (“Jellyfish Jive”) and a “Dreamgirls” -type soul song (“Which Way to Turn”).

Mr. Tartaglia’s book, however, may remind you more of “Barney & Friends,” with its cheerful bromides and insistence on the wonders of imagination. The plot follows Tank, a big-hearted but not too bright lug; Bubbles, an effervescent charmer; and Dorsel, a Woody Allen-type alarmist who would wring his hands if he had them, on a quest for the treasure on a map they’ve found. On the way they face challenges, and the fearful Dorsel (maybe he has an inferiority complex over his parents’ poor spelling) finally learns to be brave.

This sea has more sugar than salt, and adults might find themselves missing some of the naughtiness of “Avenue Q” (now running in the same complex) or the wry abrasiveness of Oscar the Grouch. But children under 8 won’t mind. And “Imaginocean” makes a point that’s often lost in all the entertainment that proclaims imagination as a child’s best friend: It can be an enemy too. When Dorsel exclaims that nothing was “as scary as I imagined it to be,” he’s doing all preschoolers a service.

(Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 and 4:30 p.m.; Sundays at noon and 3 p.m.; Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, imaginoceanthemusical.com; $39.) LAUREL GRAEBER