Backstage

Next to the stage/auditorium of the Muppet Theater, the Backstage Area was the most seen and probably best-known area of the theater. This was where many of the show's plots took place.

General Description
The backstage set included a stairway leading to an upstairs balcony backstage, with two visible dressing room doors (there was also a side door up there, seen in Episode 223). There was a stairway leading down to the exit door (and also to the lobby, and most likely to the Prop Room and the Canteen). There was also a desk/counter backstage, and by the top of the stairs was a small ledge that held different objects from episode to episode (Gaffer the cat was usually seen in that spot during the fifth season).

The set was decorated differently every week, with a lot of props and costumes (Marvin Suggs' outfit can be seen in the background of Episode 109). Sometimes a prop from a previous episode would be seen. Sometimes there would be something that had to do with the guest star (such as a poster for a Raquel Welch movie in the Raquel Welch episode).

Set Design
In Of Muppets and Men, head Muppet Show art director David Chandler discussed the design process. An important concern was making the sets look like the backstage of a real theater, and yet match the stylized nature of the Muppet characters. In addition, there were logistics problems inherent in both keeping the set in scale with the Muppets and leaving space for the performers, which Chandler discussed in great detail.
 * We knew it had to be built on platforms, and that we had to provide room for the puppeteers to work, also it had to lok old and used, but the big problem was scale. If you look carefully at that set, you'll see that the staircase is full size but the doors at the top of the stairs are about seven-eighths the siz of a regular door. The whole thing has to work for both guest stars and puppets. That's not easy to achieve. And then where do you find the props that fit in with all this? You need miniatures. We had people scouring antique shops and junk stores all over London. Luckily, we discovered that there were many beautiful Victorian toys, detailed just like the real things they were modeled on, which were the perfect size.

Appearances
This set was seen in almost every episode of The Muppet Show. Notable exceptions include Episode 208, Episode 224, and Episode 308.

The backstage set was not seen for years after the TV special The Muppets Go To The Movies. Since then, the set has been rebuilt for productions such as The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, the Weezer music video Keep Fishin' and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.

In 2004, Palisades Toys produced a Backstage Playset.