Believe it or not, The Muppets have never been on Broadway. That’s despite starring in several stage shows at Disney theme parks – and literally having a movie called The Muppets Take Manhattan. But this fall, that’s about to change.
In August it was announced that the beloved characters would be accompanying comedian Rob Lake for brief, short-lived stint along New York’s “The Great White Way.”
Fascinated by the news, we reached out immediately, and were fortunate score an in-depth interview with Lake!
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Over the course of twenty minutes, he explained the project’s inception, his history at Disney and how he surprisingly managed to make his dream of working alongside The Muppets a reality!
He also may or may not have dropped a sick little hint about which characters will be making an appearance during the show…
While you can listen to the full audio interview below, we’ve also transcribed the full conversation.
Enjoy!
DEMPSEY PILLOT: Hey, what’s up, Rob? My name is Dempsey. I’m the Editor-in-Chief of TheDisInsider. It’s a pleasure to be speaking to you today. We, of course, are gonna be talking about your brand new show on Broadway with the Muppets! It’s crazy. It’s insane. When I first heard about it, I was so excited. But before we dive into that, I’m curious just to get you get to know you as a person. I know not a lot of people may have heard about you. I mean, even though you have been in “America’s Got Talent,” you’ve performed at the White House, Las Vegas, all that stuff. So real quickly, tell me a little bit about who you are, just to, like I said, get people to know.
ROB LAKE: Well, can I start by saying I’m Disney obsessed as a fan, and I also do magic as a passion, hobby and job too. But I guess I should start at the beginning. As a kid, my heroes growing up were Walt Disney and Jim Henson, and Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg and, you know, real wizards. And when I was 10, I saw a magic show and I knew I would be a magician. But everything I do on my show is very, very theatrical. One of my friends who I’ve gotten to know who actually works at the Disney theatrical group, he described my show as a “Disney Broadway musical-sized magic show.” So my whole life I’ve been influenced by Disney Parks, especially Disney Imagineering. So when I got to do some work with them and consult with them, that was the biggest, most exciting dream come true. Growing up, you remember those little Disney Channel specials where Michael Eisner would be taking us through the behind the scenes? Even the old reruns of Walt going through The Haunted Mansion and, you know, pirates and, and all this stuff? So everything I do. is very heavily Disney influenced, and touched, and inspired. And back before we had our phone cameras, I would go to the Disney parks all around the world and just take pictures of colors and textures and ideas and inspirations. And I would never bring enough memory sticks for my digital cameras. I would take so many pictures for ideas and inspirations. I would have to go buy more and more – at Disney prices for, for the on site those days. So I’m just a guy who loves magic, who loves Disney and, who loves the theater and gets to bring it all together and do my thing all around the world.
DP: That is so cool. And yes, I do know you have a history with Disney, that you have worked with them in like a technical capacity. I’m very curious to know how that kind of informed some of the tricks and illusions that you’re gonna be doing on Broadway? Or has it not? I’m just generally curious how much of that technical experience do you incorporate into your shows – and this show that is coming up?
RL: Yeah, so I think, the foundation of my show is very much the same. We are doing several awesome, exciting new things for Broadway because it is Broadway. You know, there’s a lot more scenery when we tour every show. We do a lot of one-nighters, we do two weeks. But, you know, you have to limit what you can bring, what fits on the truck. So, because we’re parking for 12 weeks, we’re increasing the show a lot. The production value is going up because we get to. Because we’re there, we’re stopped in the same place for the same time. So that’s kind of how we’re doing it. But the show itself has always had that extra level of theatricality. The show itself has always had that storytelling. It’d be like comparing an amusement park or fair to a Disney attraction. You know, one takes you on a story, one immerses you in the world, and one is a ride. That’s kind of how I’ve approached my whole show. So my whole show has been a theatrical journey and adventure. And the Disney fans who see the show will [understand] it’s not like I’ve lifted. I’m not performing “Pirate to the Caribbean” on stage, but I think they’ll understand the level of immersion that I’m striving for is the level of immersion that Disney does. That’s the bar has been set.
DP: The show is obviously pure entertainment, but like any good show on Broadway, I’m assuming there’s a story here. Is there some sort of through-line in which you appear on stage and then you introduce them? Is there a theme that the show explores? Or what can you tell me about the show? I’m just very curious to know. The showdoesn’t open for like another month (as of the time of this recording), so what can you tell me about the story – if it has one?.
RL: Yeah, that’s a really great question. When you go see a play, whether it’s “Aladdin” or “Peter Pan”, you leave your reality at the door. So if you see Peter Pan flying across the stage, you don’t mind seeing wires or strings because that’s the contract. You’re kind of entering in that arrangement with the show. When people come to a magic show, they hold onto the reality. They want to stay as they are and the world they are. And they want me to change the laws of nature and reality around them. So there is a theme but it’s not a play. We’re not asking you to suspend your disbelief. I want you to be a skeptic. I want you to cling onto your reality and let me bring magic and bring wonder into your reality. So for me, the theme is I take the audience on a journey, a very theatrical journey for what magic means to me, my inspirations. I love ancient history. So we do a moment where we reach back to the first time magic was performed. We go back to the 1920s when a woman was cut in half for the very first time. We go to kind of a dreamlike sequence. We go to my workshop with the show. So I basically take the audience on the discovery of what magic is to me and why I am so excited about it. And as far as the Muppets go, I know that’s a big question. I’m not giving any spoilers away from that, but like the biggest spoiler is that they’re part of my history. They’re part of my story. They’re part of what magic is to me. And an early inspiration.
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DP: We can’t talk about Rob Blake Magic and the Muppets without talking about the Muppets. I know we have none here – or do we? No, I’m kidding. I had to research this and I was fact checking, and I was like, this is really the Muppet’s first time on Broadway. That sounds crazy, but it’s true.
RL: Well, technically the official line. It’s not because they perform on Broadway in “The Muppet Take Manhattan.” That’s the official word.
DP: Yes, I know.
RL: That was my favorite movie growing up. I wore out the VHS tapes over and over and it taught me what show business was. That taught me what success in show business was. So having them with me, it is more than a dream come true. It’s like, who would’ve ever thought that Disney would’ve allowed, allowed this?
DP: That’s, that is my question! It’s like, what kind of red tape did you have to go through? I know you have a history with Disney. Was it easier to kind of convince them? Like what was the pitch like? Was the idea brought to you? How did this come together?
RL: So, you’re right, I do have done a lot of Disney work. I’ve consulted for Disney Imagineering. I’ve done work for Disney theatrical on their shows, and then some other stuff that I can’t talk about yet because if you think magicians are big on secrecy, you should see those Disney NDA contracts. They’re much worse than a magician one. I was like, “Oh, I should put that in my contract language.” But surprisingly, I think everyone listening to this would agree that the Muppets could be a lot more utilized throughout the universe, not only the Disney universe but everywhere. I think we all would love, love, love, love, love to see more Muppets everywhere. So we knew the Muppets team. They’re now part of Imagineering. So it was really just easy to [ask] “Would you guys wanna do this?” And they said they were very intrigued. I created storyboards of what the illusions would be like and the sequence and the storytelling. I created a rough outline of the script, and I think it’s safe to say that they were more excited than I was to say yes. And we’ve worked with them secretly! The biggest thing was keeping it a secret. We’ve been working with them for over a year now on this, and they’ve come out to my warehouse to test out the illusions and, to rehearse and practice and to give feedback because no one has ever done this this way – and I’m trying to avoid spoilers here as much as I can – but it was really great. We had several Disney and Muppet Studios people with us, performers, and it was really neat. One of the puppet technicians who we’ve worked with throughout this whole process, he actually got hired by Jane and Jim Henson in the 1980s and has been with the Muppets since then. One of the things he said when he saw these illusions is that Jim would’ve loved this. That melted me. And it was already tough to have to, to meet Kermit and the performers and meet them in workshop. You feel like you’re talking to your childhood hero and it’s so hard to keep the tears from flowing. Even after I’ve been working with ’em for years. It’s like I’m having a conversation with Kermit the Frog again. How can I keep composure?
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DP: Yeah, I can imagine how it would be in your shoes as a Disney fan to be working alongside them, so I can only imagine how excited actual Disney fans are gonna be to see them in this capacity, and not just on stage, but as a part of a magic show. This is so cool because I also feel like this is one of the few scenarios that the Muppets have not been a part of.
RL: Yeah, I mean, they had Doug Henning, who was one of my inspirations, who was a magician in the seventies and eighties, a very hippie kind of magician who really made magic cool on TV. [He] performed as a guest in “The Muppet Show.” You can still see that on Disney+ and it’s just fun. Muppets are so vaudeville, so let’s go play on that. Let’s go put on a show kind of attitude. Magic fits great with them. And no one’s done it. No one’s presented the Muppets with illusions either, so it’s really cool and fun. But for me it’s taking the Muppets as I grew up with them. And the 1980 kind of personas of them – without puppeteers. We know it’s not Hollywood Bowl style or Avenue Q style. Back then, we saw them as existing as normal, and that’s how I wanted to make sure that they feel in my show.
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DP: And that goes into my next question, which I, um, a few years back, the last Muppet show that they had, which was the “Muppets Mayhem.” It sadly got canceled on Disney Plus. I spoke to some of the people that worked on that show like the stars and even the directors, and they were saying how sometimes it was like a logistical nightmare because they have to build a platform up for the actors to stand on and the puppeteers to go underneath. I’ve been behind the scenes on Broadway. I know how hectic that a stage can be, even though it doesn’t look that way to the average audience. So what kind of logistical nightmares did this present having that extra layer to create? Like, all Broadway shows are an illusion already, right? So you have to create an illusion on top of an illusion. What kind of logistical nightmares did that create, if any?
RL: Just for the show itself, everyone thinks Broadway theaters are huge. They are some of the smallest theaters in the world. I’ve performed my show in more than 60 countries all over the globe. And this Broadway theater is zilch. There’s non-existence, there’s a wall. And you know, the theater’s really old. We’re not gonna build a new wall in, especially when we’re only there a few for 12 weeks. So right now we’re modifying some of my illusions so they can be hanging in the backstage just to make room. Now, this is the first time we’ve had to do this from touring all over the globe, but that’s Broadway and that every show. As a kid, I got to go backstage and see “Phantom of the Opera,” and that’s an even smaller backstage. And every single set piece was hanging up in the wings. If you can go to the Museum of Broadway, an amazing experience. They have a full model of the Gershwin Theater where “Wicked” is, and it actually shows all the set pieces hanging up backstage. That’s how tight is. So we’re already having to modify just operational logistics to make the show fit on Broadway, because I don’t want to cut scenery, I don’t want to cut illusions. I wanna perform my favorite version of my show for Broadway. But to answer the Muppet question, and this is one of the many things just talking to Kermit and successfully not letting the tears be shown, getting to that compliment that we’ve never seen the Muppets this way — one of the other things I was really excited about is when we presented the outline and the presentation and this script stuff, and the general idea, and then when we did the illusions, I was patting myself on the back because growing up I watched the Muppets behind the scenes. I watched Disneyland scenes. So because of that planning, because of my entire life’s education on studying this stuff as a, as a passion, we were so well prepared. We were so well prepared where we didn’t have to do any major modifications or changes for the Muppets and also to the theater. I think it’s because I knew foundationally going in what it would take both from an illusion point of view, because I do design illusions for my show and others and Broadway shows. But then also just having such a passion for the Muppet Studios and the Muppet characters to know what they have enough reference in my mind to know what I was designing for. And we bought some cheap internet puppets just to do our mockups and our testing for. So by the time the performers and Muppet people came to my shop, we were pretty well ready for them.
DP: That’s interesting. I’m very excited to, to check it out when it finally comes out. Now the, just a couple more questions here. I know you, we cannot tread on spoiler territory, but I have to ask you, is there, you’ve done this, you, you’ve already said you’ve done this kind of show or a version of it all around the world. Is there a favorite old trick or new trick? That you’re looking forward to perform or old illusion or new illusion?
RL: Sure. That’s a great question. You know, these illusions can take me years to create. One of them took me 12 or 15 years to get in the show. Another one took me even longer. Some, the average is probably three to five years. So by the time it gets to the show, they’re like children to me. It’d be like asking your parent, do you have a favorite kid? And no parent would ever admit they do, even though we all know they really do. For me it’s the having fun with the audience. And the show’s very interactive. So when I get to bring people on stage for the magic or sometimes bring the magic to the audience, that’s fun for me. Not because it’s just different, but because I know it breaks down the barriers of skepticism and it really creates an inspiring wonder experience that you can’t get from anywhere else, but a live magic show. And there are a few times in my show, right before the magic happens, where I can’t fight it, I’m breaking a smile. It’s outta character because I just know what’s about to happen and I just know the reaction’s gonna happen, and I’m just really that excited and overwhelmed myself because I know the audience is going to be this overwhelmed and excited in seconds, and I just have to fight this second. So one thing I did on AGT, I’m chained up in a tower, and then in less than a second I exchanged places with my assistant. And the moment right before that happens, I, I crack a smile because I know it’s about to happen. And if you watch, you’ll see my face break into a smile right before I switch.
DP: So I’m assuming you’re gonna be doing a version of this again, correct?
RL: Yeah, the show on Broadway is kind of my greatest hits, my favorite illusions like that I’ve picked.
DP: That’s perfect. Once again, treading on spoiler territory. I know you can’t tell me who is in it, but is there anyone that you can say definitively is NOT in it so that you know, if somebody’s like really looking forward to, let’s say Gonzo or Dr. Teeth – I think that’s his name, right? Is there anybody you can say definitively that you should not expect?
RL: You know, yeah, we’re trying to be very careful on all spoilers here, but that’s the most creative version I’ve found of trying to get around the spoilers. So that’s a really, really good one. I think it’s more than just Kermit, I’ll say that. I’ll just say it’s more than just Kermit right now. And I’m really excited. It’s fun and just, this is probably too much, but I’ll give you this. My biggest fear for doing the Muppets was like, how do I regain control of my own show after Muppet Mayhem happens. You know They’re joining me for a part of the show. It makes sense. It flows really well from a theatrical and a theme, story wise thing. But it’s like also like, I know there’s so many people here for the Muppets, so it’s like, how do I regain my show after Muppets? They say in show business you never wanna follow kids or animals. Well, I think the worst of that is you never wanna follow Muppets. So that’s been my delicate thing. Honestly, till we try it, it’s still just a calculated risk. As Walt said, “We take calculated risks.“
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DP: And the whole thing is like a lot of people will be going into this because of the Muppets, right? And I think that is a very fair question for you to address and learn how to do because like you said, everybody loves the Muppets, but the whole thing is this isn’t all about the Muppets. It’s about you and everything that you’ve prepared and like you said, your life’s work, your greatest hits.
RL: Yeah. I’m obviously doing this, giving stage time for my Broadway debut to Muppets. So I’m one of the biggest Muppet fans in the world because it’s a no brainer. How could I not wanna share the stage that, like that scene in “Muppets take Manhattan” when Kermit’s like, “No, you can’t watch the show from backside. You should be in the show!” and, you know, bring everybody in. That’s me. I don’t want anyone to come in thinking they’re gonna see “The Muppet Show” live. It’s not “The Muppets Christmas Carol Live,” it’s not “The Muppet Show” live. We’re very clear. They are joining me for part of my show, a special part of the show, a meaningful part of the show. But we don’t want anyone let down or misled because that’s not the intent at all. You just can’t tell my story of what magic is to me and my inspirations without mentioning the Muppets. And so how could I for really telling my story, how can I do this? And also what an opportunity to bring them to New York! Whether it is their official debut or not,but what an opportunity to get to perform magic and illusions on Broadway with Muppets!
DP: Very well said. I I love that. Rob, those are all the questions that I had, unless there’s anything else that you wanna say about the show you think that people should know?
RL: We’re there for the holiday time. It’s really exciting. And also I just wanna say thanks for your podcast and for your news because I’m a Disney fan and even though I do work for them, I learned stuff from you guys. I study stuff from you guys. My main Disney love is from the parks, but you can’t touch Disney without all things Disney. So thanks for the forums that you provided and all the info you put out there and for keeping the magic alive. And I hope that I can share some of my magic to all of these Disney lovers from all around the world. And I’m, I’m sure that Disney fans from all around the world are very excited to see what the show holds in store.
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DP: But, on the record… well, no, on the subject of the, the length of the show, I know it’s only for the holiday time, but have there been discussions about potentially a longer version of the show or like a “world tour” version?
RL: Yeah, I’m always open to it, so it just depends on schedules and how this goes. And, you know, I think, if, I think all parties would be open to this if, if it’s a success, but you know, right now we’re only focused on doing it right now.
DP: Rob, thank you so much for your time!
RL: Of course, of course.
A powerhouse of magical innovation, Rob Lake raises the curtain (and a few people) on the most magnificent stage of all—Broadway! One of the world’s most celebrated illusionists brings his signature brand of mind-blowing magic and awe-inspiring storytelling to New York City for a strictly limited engagement and with very special guests, The Muppets!
The show will have a limited holiday run from October 28, 2025 through January 18, 2026.
Tickets are on sale now at RobLakeBroadway.com!
