I’ve seen more than a few awkward titles on Broadway theater marquees in my time, but Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets definitely ranks as one of the loopiest. It’s technically accurate, since Lake is the headliner and the beloved puppets take up less than 15 minutes or so of stage time. My real complaint, though, is that the order should have been reversed. The Muppets with Special Guest Rob Lake: now that’s a show I could get behind.
Unfortunately, we have to stick with what we’ve been given, which is an evening of illusions large and small as performed by Lake, whose chief claim to fame seems to be having been a finalist on America’s Got Talent (the longer television competition shows go on, the more we’re going to see their alumni on our stages).
Lake, who’s performed “record-shattering, multimillion dollar tours” across the world — magicians, by and large, are not renowned for their modesty — has plenty of experience. He’s headlined for six years at the Atlantic Resort in The Bahamas, and he’s created illusions for the pop singer Adele, the musical Death Becomes Her, and for various Disney projects. The latter no doubt accounts for this show’s appearance by The Muppets, who would seem to deserve a better Broadway debut than being second bananas to a guy who saws a woman in half.
[Read Steven Suskin’s ★★☆☆☆ review here.]
Yes, that old chestnut is presented, along with a levitation illusion (augmented by plenty of watery effects), a variation of Houdini’s classic “Metamorphosis” trick, and various mentalism routines involving too many audience members to be plants. Lake even tears up a newspaper and magically restores it, a trick that might actually predate newspapers. He also borrows rings from several audience members, magically hoops them together, and then returns them to their owners, with the last part definitely a novelty in the Times Square area.
To be fair, there are really no new magic tricks, just variations on old ones. The real trick is to present them with flair and originality. Lake is technically proficient, putting over the routines with enough polish to make them reasonably effective. But he’s lacking a certain, shall we say, charisma, and his attempts at humor either feel forced or fall flat (he was at his most engaging during a technical malfunction at a preview performance). And some of the theatrical effects just feel cheesy, like the blinding lights periodically trained on the audience that threaten to scar our retinas. Or maybe that’s just his way to make sure we can’t see how the tricks are actually done.
Fortunately, the Muppets — including Kermit, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear, among others — are on hand to provide much needed comic relief. They’re consistently funny and delightful, and the material they deliver, which includes some amusing Broadway inside jokes, are a treat.
But there’s simply not enough of them! Lake brings them onstage for short segments, the audience goes crazy, and then they disappear again. You can practically feel the disappointment from the many tykes in attendance every time Kermit or Fozzie exits the stage, especially since Lake almost always used adult volunteers for his tricks despite their desperately waved little hands.
There are also human “special guests” at every performance, but the one at the show I attended was so special I had no idea who they were. And judging by the lack of audience enthusiasm, I was not alone in my ignorance.
And to paraphrase the old Catskills joke about diners complaining not only about the bad food but also the skimpy portions, the whole damn show lasted maybe eighty minutes, tops. At these prices! Forget theater critics. Where’s Statler and Waldorf when you really need them?
Rob Lake Magic opened November 11, 2025, at the Broadhurst Theatre and runs through November 16. Tickets and information: roblake.com
