The Muppet Theatre

The Muppet Theatre is the setting for The Muppet Show, where it was first established over the course of five seasons of television. It is a grand old vaudeville house that has seen better days, but still manages to suit the showbusiness needs of the Muppets.
The building's exterior is first seen in the series' coda, The Muppets Go to the Movies, where the camera pans back from the stage, out the front doors, and provides a full view of The Muppet Theatre name on the building. Kermit the Frog serves as a house manager to the theatre which is owned by Scooter's uncle J.P. Grosse (a fact Scooter is often happy to reiterate with his amphibious boss). 
According to a 1991 storybook, the theatre was built by a stage actor named John Stone in 1802. In The Muppet Show episode 106, Kermit identifies the structure as The Benny Vandergast Memorial Theatre, but following the Muppets' residency, The Muppet Theatre name becomes prominently displayed on and . The British spelling of Theatre can be attributed to its location in London; while locking up the doors at the end of The Muppets Go to the Movies, Miss Piggy asks Kermit to walk her to The Tube, London's subway system ("I love to walk to The Tube!", she exclaims).
After The Muppet Show, the location of The Muppet Theatre becomes more ambiguous; either as a result of renting playhouses in different cities, or through the magic of the Muppets' inconsistent continuity. Most stage areas occupied by the Muppets are either called The Muppet Theatre in name or bear some resemblance to the their original home on The Muppet Show. For example, commercials for Polaroid, The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Weezer's "Keep Fishin'" music video, and others, are close facsimiles of the original theatre (sometimes with modifications), and are most likely meant to serve as such.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie clearly establishes a theatre located in New York City, as Piggy's apartment (in an alternate universe) has a view of the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. The plot of the TV movie involves the theatre being in jeopardy of finding itself repurposed as a night club. Its owner's plan is ultimately foiled by Pepe the King Prawn when he registers the theatre as an historical landmark; the document uses the Americanized spelling, The Muppet Theater.
A third definitive location was established in the 2011 film The Muppets, where it's situated within the Muppet Studios lot in Hollywood. The El Capitan Theatre served as The Muppet Theatre exterior during filming, returning the name to its British spelling, The Muppet Theatre. This version of the theater was used in Muppets Most Wanted and a promotional ad for Orange.
==Notable events==
* The theatre finds itself in flames throughout much of episode 303; Fozzie keeps the crisis from Kermit for as long as possible.
* In need of fumigation, the Muppets vacate the theatre in episode 308, relocating to the train station for the duration of the show.
* Gonzo attempts to defuse a bomb in episode 407, but he's foiled by M.A.M.M.A. and blows up half the theatre.
* Oil is found under the theatre in episode 410, so J.P. sells the mining rights to the Guest Star's Dressing Room.
* The entire theatre sets sail on the open ocean when it's hijacked by pirates in episode 507.
* When the roof rots through, contractors relocate it to the shop for maintenance in episode 516.
* The lights are out in the theatre throughout the show when an electrical fuse is blown in episode 522. Additionally, guest star Buddy Rich "plays" the theatre, using the walls and items in several areas as percussive instruments for his drum sticks.
* Rizzo leads the rats on a hunt to find hidden treasure, demolishing the theatre in the process, in The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson.
* The theatre is in danger of being repurposed by its owner, prompting the Muppets to win their stage back from the villainous threat in both It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets (2011).
==Rooms==
Defined areas seen in The Muppet Theatre include backstage right, the dressing rooms, the attic, the canteen, the prop room, the storage room, the boiler room, the stage, the house, the stage door lobby, and the back alley.
In The Comic Muppet Book and Bo Saves the Show there is also a cellar where the monsters stay.
TmsAttic.jpg|Attic|link=The attic
Theater1.png|Auditorium|link=Muppet Theater Auditorium
TmsBackstage2.jpg|Backstage|link=Backstage
Boilerroom.jpg|Boiler Room|link=The Boiler Room
Canteen.jpg|Canteen|link=The Canteen
Dressingroom.jpg|Guest Star's Dressing Room|link=Guest Star's Dressing Room
Piggy-dressingroom.jpg|Miss Piggy's Dressing Room|link=Miss Piggy's Dressing Room
Orchestrapit.jpg|The Orchestra Pit|link=The Muppet Orchestra
Proproom.jpg|Prop Room|link=The Prop Room
Reception.jpg|Reception|link=Reception
RockMusic1.jpg|Recording Studio|link=The Recording Studio
The Muppets Theater (2).jpg|Stage|link=Muppet Theater Stage
Location.stagedoor.jpg|Stage Door|link=The Stage Door
Storage.jpg|Storing Room|link=Beauregard's Storing Room
105-17.jpg|Statler and Waldorf's Box|link=Statler and Waldorf's Box
==Behind the scenes==
Steve Saklad, production designer on The Muppets, was charged with re-creating the theatre interior for the 2011 film. The set itself was reworked from a 1925 set built for The Phantom of the Opera. Of the task, Saklad said:
Special tribute was paid to Muppets creator Jim Henson, with the theater's curtain rail system donning the installation date of September 24, 1936, the day Henson was born. The date can be spotted briefly in a scene that shows the Muppets sleeping on the rafters and in hammocks on stage.
==Staff==
* Kermit the Frog: Host, performer
* Pops: Doorman, box office
* Scooter: Go-fer
* George the Janitor
* Beauregard: Janitor, stagehand
* Beaker: Stagehand, lab assistant
* Hilda: Wardrobe
* Gladys: Canteen staff
* The Swedish Chef: Canteen staff, performer
* Fozzie Bear: Stand-up comedian
* Gonzo: Stunt Performer
* Miss Piggy: Performer
* Lew Zealand: Performer
* Wayne and Wanda: Singers
* The Electric Mayhem: House band
* Nigel: Conductor
* The Muppet Orchestra
* Stagehand
* Security Guard
* Harvey: lighting director
* J. P. Grosse: owner
* Rachel Bitterman: owner
* : makeup
Muppet Theatre slightly closer.jpg|Building front exterior, in detail
Muppet Theatre poster TMS316.jpg|Promotional poster seen in seasons 2 and 3
Muppet Theatre MB puzzle.jpg|Posters seen in a 1980 Milton Bradley puzzle
Muppet Theatre David Lazer Carol Burnett.jpg|Muppet Theatre behind the scenes with David Lazer and Carol Burnett
backstage poster tms205.jpg|posters seen in episode 205
The Muppets Theater (3).jpg
VMX-StageGroup03.png|Undressed stage in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Muppet_theatre_dirty.jpg|The Muppet Theatre in disrepair, as seen in The Muppets
theater4.png
TheMuppets-(2011)-TheOtherBox.jpg|The rarely seen balcony, opposite Statler & Waldorf's box
Muppet-Stage-Hooray.jpg|Promo image featured on a German postcard
theater2.png
theater3.png
==Appearances==
* The Muppet Show, all episodes except episode 308 (1976-1981)
* Because We Care (1980)
* The Muppets Audition Night (1980)
* The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981)
* Polaroid commercials (1981)
* Playhouse Video series (1985)
* Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear (1988)
* The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
* Muppet Classic Theater (1994)
* V-Chip commercial, The Toreador Song (1999)
* Jim Henson's Muppets (2002)
* Weezer's "Keep Fishin'" music video (2002)
* It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
* CanTeen commercial (2005)
* The Muppets (2011)
* Orange commercials (2011)
* LittleBigPlanet (2012)
* Club Penguin Muppets World Tour (2014)
==Illustrated appearances==
* The Muppet Show Book (1978)
* Muppet Show Advent calendar (1979)
* The Comic Muppet Book (1979)
* The Muppets comic strip (1981-1986)
* Fozzie's Big Book of Sidesplitting Jokes (1981)
* Bo Saves the Show (1982)
* Gonzo and the Giant Chicken (1982)
* Two for the Show (1982)
* Muppet Show Pop-Up Book (1984)
* Miss Piggy and the Big Gorilla (1988)
* Jim Henson's Bedtime Stories (1989)
* Foo-Foo, Where Are You? (1991)
* The Phantom of the Muppet Theater (1991)
* Sweet & Silly Muppet Poems (1992)
* The Muppet Show Comic Book (2009-2010)
* I Am Kermit the Frog (2011)
* Meet the Muppets (2011)
* The Muppets: Theater Stage Set (2011)
* Miss Piggy in the Spotlight (2012)
* Bunsen and Beaker Save the Show (2013)
* Easter Eggstravaganza! (2013)
TheComicMuppetBook-TheMuppetTheater-(1979).jpg|The Comic Muppet Book.
Theatre-phantombook.jpg|The Phantom of the Muppet Theater
Pegleg4b.jpg|The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson
MupTheater-GBC.png|As rendered in Jim Henson's Muppets
Clue_Muppets-4.jpg|Interior layout as seen in Clue: The Muppets
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Muppet Show Locations
Category:Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Locations
Category:The Muppets (2011) Locations