The Muppets retake Manhattan: Rob Lake’s Broadway debut fulfills a dream he shared with Jim Henson

In many ways, renowned illusionist Rob Lake’s entire life has been building up to his Broadway debut in Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets, which begins previews tonight at the Broadhurst Theatre.

As a child growing up in Oklahoma, his parents exposed him to theater by taking him to touring shows. The education didn’t stop there.

“When they took me to New York, my first Broadway shows were The Secret Garden, The Will Rogers Follies, and Beauty and the Beast, ” Lake tells Fast Company. “I was just so fortunate to be exposed to the arts quite often as a kid.”

This early education included the Muppets and their films. “I wore those tapes out so many times. The Muppets Take Manhattan was my favorite,” Lake explains.

This is especially fitting since Lake is now essentially living the plot of the 1984 film, which revolves around Kermit the Frog and friends and their madcap efforts to mount a musical on the Great White Way.

“These characters, they’ve been part of my life for as long as I can remember. And I wouldn’t be in show business without them,” Lake says. “Kermit and the gang taught me what show business is, success is, how to follow your dreams and how to persevere. That’s not just a sound bite.”

Where the magic happens

Lake has great respect and reverence for Jim Henson and Walt Disney, childhood heroes of his.

At age 10, a magic show in Branson, Missouri, would clarify his life trajectory and give him a clear goal—to become a world renowned illusionist.

At just 42 years old, Lake has certainly accomplished that and more. He has performed to sold-out audiences in over 60 countries and made numerous television appearances.

ABC dubbed him “one of the world’s top Illusionists” while NBC crowned him “the world’s greatest illusionist.”

In 2008, he became the youngest person ever to be given the Merlin Award—as “International Stage Magician of the Year.” This is magic’s highest honor, similar to an actor winning an Oscar.

Beyond performing, he worked as a creative consultant on multiple Broadway productions, such as Death Becomes Her. He also worked at Sesame Street Live, Walt Disney Imagineering, and as the creative consultant and illusion designer for Adele’s Las Vegas Residency at Caesars Palace.

In 2018, he competed on America’s Got Talent.

“One of the questionnaires where they’re trying to get your backstory asked you to name a celebrity that you’re similar to or you relate to,” Lake recalls. “And my response to that was Kermit the Frog.”

Shortly after this, he met producer Joe Quenqua. (Lake, Quenqua, and Glass Half Full Productions all serve as producers on Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets.)

Quenqua, who previously worked for the Walt Disney Company, had Muppet connections. “When we discussed bringing Rob’s show to Broadway, we spoke about his early inspirations and what drove him to be a performer,” Quenqua says. “The Muppets were at the very top of this list.”

After an introduction from Quenqua, all the pieces fell into place to have Lake join forces with Kermit and the gang.

“The creativity and the vision and the idea for that came at the right time, the right place,” Lake says. “Just everything aligned perfectly when that happened.”

“Surreal and humbling”

Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets officially opens on November 6 after beginning previews tonight. It will have a limited 12-week run.

Both Lake and Quenqua are acutely aware that they are fulfilling a dream that the late Jim Henson didn’t live long enough to accomplish.

“I’d had no idea until the documentary by Ron Howard that Jim had been wanting to get this to Broadway,” Lake revealed. “It really struck a chord with me, because when I saw that documentary, I had already been working on my show with the Muppets, and it just really hit me—the gravity and reverence of this.”

Quenqua called fulfilling Henson’s legacy, “both surreal and humbling.”

A good magician never reveals his tricks, especially not before opening night, but Lake was able to give some hints on what audiences may be able to expect. Lake has curated “my favorite illusions, the culmination of my entire life’s work, to be able to bring my best magic to Broadway.”

These greatest hits represent years of work, trial and error, and perseverance.

Adding the Muppets into his illusions was a fun challenge for Lake.

“I think I was really well prepared just because of my childhood obsession with the Muppets,” he says. “I had a really good understanding of how they filmed and how they operated. I was able to design illusions that could incorporate my whole life’s memories, research, and studying of the process for them.”

He took special care to incorporate their specific character traits into the show.

“Magic is not about being tricked”

Lake says his show is going to take the audience on a journey filled with “peaks and valleys and highs and lows.”

He compared it to an orchestral piece with contrasting movements, saying “Not every part of my show is light and fun, and not every part of my show is mysterious and intense.”

“For me, magic is not just about being tricked,” he added. “No one likes to be tricked. No one likes to be fooled. For me, magic is about creating wonder and enchantment: a scene, a world, an emotion and experience where anything can happen.”

The Broadhurst, he says, offers the perfect backdrop for this magical 90-minute theatrical event: “It’s very intimate, even though it’s one of the largest theaters. Everyone will be able to see myself and Kermit really well.”

When asked what he would want Jim Henson to notice about the show if he could come back and see it, Lake replied, “I would just want to make sure I did him proud. I would just want to make sure I took care of the world he created. And I would want him to know that the Muppets are as beloved and cherished and celebrated as they always have been.”

Quenqua, meanwhile, would want Henson to know how hard Lake worked to honor his legacy: “I would hope that he sees how much love and reverence Rob has for him and all he created.”

“I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life,” Lake says, “before I even knew it.”

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