“We loved the idea of Rowlf sitting there on a huge podium, and then it collapses and you see Jim and me performing him,” Oz said. “We loved the idea of being seen. That was one thing I loved about Jim—he was never precious with the puppets.” This progressive attitude toward puppetry was well ahead of its time; forty years later, puppeteers would routinely be visible to audiences as they performed their characters onstage in shows like The Lion King and Avenue Q. In 1971, however, such an approach challenged nearly every expectation American audiences had for a puppet show.
