From Ethel Merman to Liza Minnelli: Revisit the Best of Broadway on THE MUPPET SHOW

It's time to play the music! It's time to light the lights! It's time to meet Broadway's best on The Muppet Show tonight!

On Wednesday, February 4, The Muppet Show is celebrating 50 years since its television debut with a brand-new episode starring the lovable group of misfits collectively known as The Muppets.

With a deep-rooted background in performance (of all kinds), The Muppets have always been closely connected to the theatricality of Broadway. Through their ups and downs, this remains an integral part of their existence, whether it's starring in comedy sketches, attempting dance routines, or belting show tunes.

They have performed with many stage stars over the years, including Broadway icons like Ethel Merman, Julie Andrews, Joel Grey, Liza Minnelli, and many more. In the 1980s, they even made an entire movie about starring in the Broadway musical Manhattan Melodies. (Note: That was a fictional production, but the core group of Muppets made their official Broadway debut in 2025's Rob Lake Magic show.)

Like the original show, the new episode features a very special guest star, the musical icon Sabrina Carpenter. Though she is best known as the artist behind "Espresso" and "Manchild" (as she should be), her appearance will continue a decades-long tradition of Broadway alums gracing the dusty old theater where Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear attempt to put on a successful show week after week.

With the new special now streaming on Disney+, we have rounded up some of the best Broadway talent during the show's original run. This list is not exhaustive, but offers a fitting snapshot of the worlds of Broadway and theater from 1976 to 1981. Take a look below to revisit showtunes from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim, and more!

Joel Grey

One of the earliest stars to appear on the show during its first season, Joel Grey had already won a Tony and an Academy Award for his acclaimed performance as the Emcee in Broadway's Cabaret. He offered viewers a taste of that performance by singing "Wilkommen" on The Muppet Show. This was the first episode of the series to air for UK viewers, though New York audiences would have to wait a bit longer.

Also in the realm of Broadway, this episode opens with a performance of Comedy Tonight, from Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum- though it doesn't feature Grey. Instead, a group of monsters Muppets, known as Frackles, took the stage for a rendition of the opening number. Interestingly, Zero Mostel, who performed the song in the original stage production, was a guest star himself during the show's second season. Take a look a bit further down the list to learn more.

Rita Moreno

In 1976, Rita Moreno had just come off her Tony Award win in the comedy play The Ritz. Immediately after, she starred in the film adaptation of the Terrence McNally play, which hit theaters only a month before this Muppet Show appearance. But, Broadway (and movie) audiences also knew her from her Oscar-winning performance as Anita in the 1961 film version of West Side Story. In this episode, she didn't sing any major Broadway hits but performed a now-iconic rendition of "Fever" by John Davenport and Eddie Cooley. Moreno also won an Emmy Award for this appearance— the only guest star to do so.

Ben Vereen

Three years after winning a Tony Award for playing the title role in Stephen Schwartz's Pippin, Ben Vereen made his way to the Muppet Theater for a Season 1 appearance. In his episode, the Broadway performer sang a "Mr. Cellophane" from Chicago, as well as a jazzy rendition of "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Ethel Merman

In a late career appearance from the Broadway icon, Ethel Merman graced The Muppet Show, complete with all her brassy, bravado glory, during its first season. Alongside The Muppets, the performer sang a medley of some of her best-known hit showtunes, including "You're the Top" from Anything Goes, "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun, and Gypsy's "Together Wherever We Go," among others.

Zero Mostel

Known to Broadway audiences for originating roles in shows like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Fiddler on the Roof, Zero Mostel sang from neither of these musicals during his Season 1 appearance. Instead, he performed an over-the-top take on "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot. This episode was filmed only four months before the death of the three-time Tony winner and aired posthumously.

Bernadette Peters

In The Muppet Show's second season, Bernadette Peters visited the show during the early days of her career. When she filmed her appearance in 1977, she had just come off onscreen appearances in Mel Brooks' Silent Movie and the short-lived Norman Lear sitcom, All's Fair. For her work on the stage, she already had two Tony Award nominations under her belt for On the Town and Mack & Mabel. 

In the episode, she performed several numbers, including "Just One Person," with Robin the Frog. Originally written for Snoopy! The Musical, the song has gone on to be a Muppet staple. For her appearance in the show, Peters received an Emmy nomination, as did Peter Sellers that same season. She continued her onscreen collaboration with The Muppets when she appeared as a guest when they hosted The Tonight Show in 1979. 

Julie Andrews

By the time Julie Andrews visited The Muppet Show in 1977, she had already worked with the furry characters several times before. The Muppets first starred with the Oscar-winner during The Julie Andrews Hour in 1973, and their collaborations continued when she hosted a Sesame Street special that same year, as well as Julie: My Favorite Things in 1975, which heavily featured the characters.

During her appearance on The Muppet Show, she tapped into her acclaimed performance as Maria in the film version of The Sound of Music with a charming rendition of "The Lonely Goatherd." Notably, she also performs a sweet song she wrote especially for Kermit during the appearance. The episode concludes with a performance of "I Whistle a Happy Tune" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I. Andrews would go on to record a studio version of the song when she played Anna in a 1992 cast recording of the musical.

Leslie Uggams

In Leslie Uggams' episode of The Muppet Show, she shares hosting duties with another entertainment icon: Big Bird. Marking one of the few times Sesame Street characters appeared on The Muppet Show, Uggams and Big Bird duet on "Love Will Keep Us Together," a song made famous by Captain & Tennille. But the episode opens with "Hey There, Good Times" from the Tony Award-winning musical I Love My Wife.

At this point in her career, Uggams had two Broadway shows under her belt: the short-lived Her First Roman and Hallelujah, Baby!, which won her a Tony Award and also marked her Broadway debut. Shortly before her appearance on The Muppet Show, she had starred in the highly successful historical miniseries Roots, which received a whopping 37 Emmy Award nominations, including one for her performance. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for the series, which also starred fellow Broadway alum and Muppet Show guest Ben Vereen.

Linda Lavin

A Broadway and stage veteran, Linda Lavin's appearance on The Muppet Show came at the height of her nearly decade-long tenure as the title role in the sitcom Alice. Coming off the first of two back-to-back Golden Globe wins for the series, Lavin had already appeared in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including the Neil Simon play Last of the Red Hot Lovers, which garnered her first Tony nomination.

Lavin doesn't sing any Broadway showtunes in the episode, but performs "The More I See You" by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, and the popular standard "Beyond the Blue Horizon." She later worked with The Muppets again in The Muppets Take Manhattan, appearing in a cameo role as Kermit's Doctor.

Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli brought all of her theatrical skills to this Season 4 episode of the show, which notably differs in format from most of the others. Rather than the standard variety show, the plot revolves around the presentation of a murder mystery, with Kermit playing a private detective and Minnelli as a stage actress named Liza O’Shaughnessy. Together, they attempt to discover the killer who is terrorizing their in-universe theater production. After the case is solved and the murder mystery is over, Minnelli leads a brassy performance of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy.

Already a three-time Tony winner in 1979, this episode was taped a month before she graced the stage for her major Carnegie Hall show that September. She would later make a cameo appearance as herself in The Muppets Take Manhattan. The scene in question, shot at the legendary Sardi's restaurant, sees the actress question Vincent Sardi himself as to the whereabouts of her caricature after it is replaced by one featuring a very frog-like "producer."

Carol Channing

Known for her distinct voice and legendary stage career, Carol Channing fit in perfectly with her Muppet co-stars during her appearance. In 1980, Channing was best known to Broadway fans of the era for her Tony Award-winning turn as Dolly Levi in the hit musical, Hello, Dolly! She would return to the role several times over the years, including in another Broadway production just two years before this episode.

But, rather than perform anything from Hello, Dolly!, she shared the stage with Miss Piggy to sing a different (yet familiar) favorite: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friends," which she had first performed 30 years earlier during her breakout performance in the original Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.