SAN ANTONIO – It’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights.
Disney is getting things started on a reboot of “The Muppet Show,” Deadline reported earlier this year. The special will air Feb. 4 on KSAT 12.
UT San Antonio assistant professor Bradley Freeman Jr. is one of the puppeteers helping to bring the classic characters back to the variety show format.
“I got the call that I was going to be a part of it,” Freeman said, “and I almost started crying.”
Freeman has been a puppeteer since he was 5 years old, drawing inspiration from sketches in the original series that ran from 1976 to 1981.
“I can’t tell you how special that is... what that moment felt like,” Freeman said. “It was so incredible and nothing really felt real.”
In 2021, Freeman joined the world of Jim Henson’s Muppets when he was cast for the role of Wes on Sesame Street, a new character introduced to talk about race and racial justice.
“We’ve been on for 56 years, so I’m very much a drop in the bucket of that franchise,” Freeman said of Sesame Street. “I feel lucky that I get to be one of those characters who’s introduced and is at the moment considered to be a fairly main character.”
Freeman is now one of 11 principal puppeteers on Sesame Street, and is by far the youngest member of the cast. He said he feels grateful to be one of the thousands of puppeteers who “made it.”
“It’s hard to get into that 11,” Freeman said, “but even harder to get into is that core group of like six folks at The Muppets.”
After working on a few Muppet projects, Freeman said he is now grateful to be learning and working alongside the same puppeteers he watched growing up.
“Dave Goelz, who’s been doing this for over 50 years now and performs Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, now he’s a friend and I have his number,” Freeman said, “as much as he regrets giving it to me.”
While there have been several attempts to resurrect The Muppets franchise, Freeman said this format is the best showcase of Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang.
“The place that these characters really thrive is The Muppet Show, this Vaudevillian-style sketch show,” Freeman said. “That’s the silliness that they thrive in and that they deserve to be in.”
The Muppets special, which Deadline reported could serve as a backdoor pilot for an entire series, features singer Sabrina Carpenter as its special guest.
Of the many celebrities Freeman has had the opportunity to work with, he said Carpenter is probably one of the most down-to-earth he has worked with.
“I’m so glad that we got Sabrina Carpenter,” Freeman said. “We had a whole bunch of fun doing different choreo and TikToks. She was like, I want to bring you guys on tour.”
Miss Piggy later appeared at Carpenter’s final show in her Short & Sweet tour, offering to provide “a few notes” on her performance.
Freeman said he is excited about the prospect of Carpenter’s ability to introduce younger audiences to the characters.
“Sabrina Carpenter is a person who can reach people like my little brother, my little sister, who maybe wouldn’t have chosen to watch ‘The Muppets,’” Freeman said.
Having returned to his alma mater as an instructor, Freeman uses the knowledge he has gained and connections he has made to pay it forward to the next generation of performers.
Freeman is also providing his expertise as the director for the new Dramatic Arts program’s first performance: “Little Shop of Horrors,” which will run from April 9-26 at Buena Vista Theatre.
As a leader in the new program, Freeman hopes its performances will help uplift all performing arts in San Antonio.
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