According to The Phantom of the Muppet Theater, the theater was built by a stage actor named John Stone in 1802. At some point a production of Hamlet ran in the theater, with Stone playing the title role. An alternate exterior is also shown in the book. The original exterior can be seen at the end of The Muppets Go to the Movies. It was renovated by the time of It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.