Nicely people, this isn’t the evaluation we needed to put in writing. With the information that Rob Lake Magic with Particular Friends The Muppets is closing on Sunday, November sixteenth, only a week and a half after its official premiere, this evaluation has develop into a eulogy. And the Muppets really deserve higher than this.
Ever since The Muppet Present premiered in 1976, there’s been a requirement for a theatrical expertise that includes the Muppets. Seeing the existence of theater seats reverse the Muppet Theatre’s stage was nearly a promise that you might watch the Muppets carry out dwell. There have been a couple of examples over time, together with The Muppet Present: On Tour, The Muppets Take the Bowl, and even MuppetVision 3D, every nearly offering that have however not fairly delivering the precise feeling of attending The Muppet Present.
The announcement that the Muppets can be showing in Rob Lake’s Broadway present might not have promised The Muppet Present, but it surely was an necessary stepping stone to creating it a actuality. Whereas by no means confirmed by Disney, it felt like this was a check to see how the Muppets would possibly work on a Broadway stage. Will the puppets be too small? Might they carry out to a pre-recorded vocal monitor? Would they must depend on Jumbotron screens? And most significantly, would audiences actually really feel like these have been the “actual” Muppets? Relying on the solutions to those questions, we might deduce the potential for what would possibly come subsequent for theatrical Muppets.
Earlier than we get to answering these questions, let’s discuss in regards to the present as a complete. This was very a lot Rob Lake’s present, with the Muppets peppered in. This meant lengthy parts of magic acts with out the Muppets, with various levels of awe. A disappearing, reappearing bike is fairly spectacular. Sawing a girl in half, a bit lackluster. Rob comes throughout as a pleasant man, however he lacks the kind of razzle dazzle we anticipate from headlining magicians, whether or not it comes from flashy outfits and panache, or from the timing of a superb comic. Particularly when he’s taking turns with the Muppets for the highlight, he isn’t in a position to stand out compared.
Pairing the Muppets with Rob Lake was a questionable choice from day one. There’s little question in my thoughts that Rob doesn’t love and respect the Muppets. He comes throughout as an actual fan, which was confirmed within the few private interactions we’ve had with him. And whereas he talked a great quantity in regards to the “magic” of the Muppets (and let’s be actual: it takes a lot of magic to convey the Muppets to life), the Muppets have been principally set aside from the magic acts. The few instances these worlds did intersect, it was principally the identical trick achieved a number of instances: A Muppet isn’t there, after which out of the blue they seem. It’s all the time a deal with to get a Muppet Shock, after all, however the thrill comes from seeing the characters dwell, not from the smoke and mirrors.
Out of the 90-minute present, the Muppets seem in about 9 or 10 minutes of the present. With such restricted stage time, we anticipated rather a lot. And what we acquired was good, although it felt like they left a whole lot of potential on the slicing room flooring. It was doubtless sufficient for many audiences to get to see Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy and the gang dwell. Personally, my favourite a part of the present was listening to the viewers erupt each time they took the stage (particularly Miss Piggy – she’s nonetheless a star!). I want they’d gotten to do extra, like performing in some Muppet Present-style skits or CRAZY IDEA possibly sing a music?? I additionally would’ve liked extra examples of “Muppet magic,” taking a cue from Rob Lake and giving us extra puppetry tips past the outdated “puppet on a stool” phantasm. After all, they’re not the celebrities, simply the visitors, so their cameos have been applicable. However I needed extra.
There was some concern from Muppet followers that, realizing the characters can be performing to a pre-recorded monitor, they won’t really feel just like the “actual” Muppets. I can’t inform you how happy I used to be to see how alive all of them felt. The lip-sync was close to good, and I’m certain they felt as professional as might be to the untrained eye. This all comes all the way down to the truth that they forged all Henson-trained puppeteers (underneath the steerage of Puppet Captain Peter Linz) who know what it takes to carry out the characters precisely.
So, massive props to performers John Cody, Ben Durocher, Matthew Furtado, Noel MacNeal, Sebastiano Ricci, and Stoph Scheer. They honestly stood out as the very best a part of the present. (Sorry, Gonzo.)
All of that is to say: The Muppets actually do work in the sort of surroundings. If the hidden agenda of the present was to see if the Muppets might carry their very own Broadway present, then it’s a powerful “sure” from me. Regardless of being as massive as a regular Broadway theater, the Broadhurst was the right measurement to have the ability to see the puppets clearly from any seat, and the minimal use of screens was simply sufficient to permit close-ups with out lacking out on the dwell side. And the truth that my greatest (solely?) criticism in regards to the Muppets on this present was my need to see extra is a very good factor.
The early cancellation of Rob Lake Magic is fairly tragic. This may occasionally not have been the perfect venue for the Muppets, but it surely was a fantastic alternative for individuals to get to see the Muppets up shut and private. And the tease of their potential was so large, it left me leaving the theater with pleasure for after they is perhaps headlining their very own present. My greatest worry is that The Powers That Be (whether or not they be theater producers, Disney Theatrical, or Mr. Broadway himself) might think about the cancellation of this present as an indication that the Muppets don’t work on stage, and to that I say “fallacious.” Give the Muppets their very own shot and watch the seats replenish. And extra importantly, watch the faces within the viewers mild up, as a result of this is what individuals need to see. Extra Muppets. Please.
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by Joe Hennes and Matthew Soberman, with further reporting by Drake Lucas
