If singing a couple of songs in a benefit will help keep the Festival alive and known, well, how can I say no to that?

There is nothing wrong with loving musical theatre, but I think that it's naive to hold it superior any other musical classification, especially since these other genres have been influencing Broadway more and more in recent decades.

When I decided to pursue a career as a Muppet Performer when I was in college, it was my hope to be able to play a wide range of Muppet characters in all areas and genres of television and film.

My tastes range all over the place, from vocal standards to Motown to 70s funk & soul to 80s pop to film scores to artists like R.E.M., Ben Folds, Prince, Annie Lennox, the Police, Elvis Costello, Cat Stevens, the Ditty Bops, local bands that friends of mine are in, and the list goes on... I have no single favorite genre or artist.

There are lots of stories in pop music, lots of lush orchestrations, lots of attention to detail. You just have to know where to find them. The best stuff is never overt.

I have performed many puppet and non-puppet characters in my career. Some I miss, some I do not. But when I miss them, I only miss performing them. The actual sweatiness of the fur and foam and fleece? Not so much.

I think that so many actors are defined by the first thing that people see them do, and there were people who simply couldn't accept the fact that I was doing something that they perceived as being a radical departure from Avenue Q.