Editor's Note: The following interview was conducted in early October, before Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests the Muppets announced it would be closing prematurely on Broadway November 16.

It’s a Monday morning, and I'm the most nervous I’ve ever been in my career. I’m about to interview one of my childhood heroes, and he is a two-foot-tall amphibian. “Hi ho, Jeffrey,” he says with that instantly recognizable voice that transports me right back to my childhood home, watching The Muppets on TV. Yeah, I’m sitting across from Kermit the Frog and next to him, illusionist Rob Lake, radiates the quiet assurance of someone who understands how to create wonder right in front of your eyes. “There’s just something magical about live theatre,” Kermit says, almost shyly. “Especially with a little extra magic from Rob Lake.”

The show, Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests the Muppets, currently running at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, is bringing together a heart-stirring combination of excitement for audiences of all generations. Broadway, after all, has always been the place where dreams become tangible: where light hits velvet curtains, where orchestras tune beneath golden ceilings, where the impossible isn’t merely expected, it’s invited! 

And now, for the first time, Lake’s sweeping illusions shares the stage with the timeless playfulness of Jim Henson’s creations.

Earlier that morning, Lake (who was a finalist in America's Got Talent) performed two of his acts of illusion for members of the media.

“Broadway is the world stage,” Lake says. “And I wanted to bring magic and put it shoulder-to-shoulder with things like theatre and dance and art,” he says, beaming from ear to ear. “Broadway inspired me, just like Kermit inspired me.” Lake motions to the legendary green performer beside him. “I am a theatre person who happens to do magic in a very theatrical way,” he says, his inner theatre kid poking through. “Broadway is built for the dreamers who never give up.”

Next to Lake, Kermit nods in that familiar way we’ve seen him do on countless TV shows and films—his felt, green face bright with that steady, familiar warmth that has been a constant for over 50 years. “Rob’s reputation for making incredible magic precedes him,” Kermit says. “When he reached out and invited the Muppets to join him on stage, we were all flattered. We really were. I don’t know if I told you that.” He turns, looking up to catch Lake’s gaze. “He promised there’d be lots of fun, a few surprises, and maybe just a tad less danger than some of our usual onstage stunts. So, you know, we couldn’t resist. It’s not every day that you get to work with a magician of Rob’s talent. And who could say no to a bit of Broadway magic?”

It’s easy to forget that Kermit has never actually performed on Broadway before. He’s been everywhere—on stages, in films, on balconies with Miss Piggy—but never as part of a Playbill. “There’s just something magical about live theatre,” Kermit says, almost shyly. “Especially with a little extra magic from Rob Lake.”

For Lake, the honor carries the weight from a lifetime of longing. He still has boxes of Playbills from every show he’s ever seen. “I would never throw them away,” he says earnestly. “Ever since I was a kid, it’s always been my dream to perform my magic on Broadway … I would spend hours reading every single word of every Playbill bio as a kid, and now I get to do that. It really means a lot.”

Lakes says his love of illusion was born from the same childhood wonder that drew him to the Muppets. So for his Broadway debut, it felt natural to combine the two. “You can’t tell my story about magic without starting with the Muppets,” he says. “My heroes growing up were not other magicians. They were Walt Disney and Jim Henson, real wizards who create magic.” He pauses, the kind of pause that feels like a heartbeat. “So for me, it was just common sense. My show on Broadway is very personal. It’s not just trick, trick, trick. It’s showing the audience what magic is to me, how I experience it. It starts with my childhood, so it made sense to invite these guys. They live in this place between imagination, creativity, and wonder. So, it’s a perfect fit to have Muppets with magic.”

The Muppets and Lake share a philosophy: Wonder is serious business. They both build universes where sincerity is the engine and joy the reward. “Before I found magic, I was into puppets. I was into theatre,” Lake says. “And then when I was 10, I saw a magic show, and I knew that’s my version of art. That’s my path.” He describes it to me vividly: the dancers, the music, the cars appearing out of thin air. “Looking back now, it was like I had this divine programming downloaded to me, saying, ‘Here’s your goal. Here’s your path. Here’s your life.’ And I just dove in.” It’s clear that Lake’s passion for entertainment goes beyond illusions, but a really love for storytelling and performing. 

“In my show, we take the audience on a journey back in time and all around the world. I don't just perform tricks. I show you the illusions and the magic of why magic inspires me and what magic and illusion mean to me.”

Kermit laughs softly when I ask if he’s picked up any tricks during rehearsals. “Oh gosh, that’s the trick here, not to spoil anything,” he says. “But I can say I have no idea how he does it. It’s truly magic.” That voice, the mannerisms, once again triggers nostalgia in an instant.

But Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests the Muppets is more than spectacle. It’s an act of shared belief. An invitation for every generation to see what happens when artistry and imagination intertwine. “I have a three and six-year-old niece, and they’re so excited,” Lake says. “I had to introduce them to magic, of course, but also to the Muppets. We grew up with the Muppets on TV and movies regularly, and there’s a whole new generation who gets to experience them and meet them the way we wanted to see them.”

He leans forward, his voice softening. “That’s why I created these illusions. So, we can see them the way I met them and knew them when I was a kid.” That might be the truest definition of Broadway magic: to see something beloved illuminated anew.

Before we finish, I ask Kermit what he’d say to the kids who will be seeing Broadway for the first time this winter. He pauses for a moment, tilts his head, and says, “Theatre is a place where anything can happen. You can laugh, you can sing, you can even see things that make you say, ‘How’d they do that?’ It’s where stories come to life, and friends, old and new, can share a bit of joy together. The magic of theatre is really just the magic of having fun, using your imagination, and being together.” There it is again, that word: together.

Perhaps that’s what this collaboration is all about. Rob Lake, an illusionist who has devoted his life to wonder, and Kermit and the Muppets—beacons of creativity, joy, and imagination—joining together to bring magic to Broadway this holiday season and remind us of the power in believing.