Noel MacNeal

Noel MacNeal, also credited as Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director, and writer whose career in puppetry spans more than four decades. He made his Broadway debut on November 6, 2025, as a puppeteer and ensemble member in Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests The Muppets.

MacNeal entered the puppetry profession in 1982 as a puppet wrangler on Sesame Street. The following year, he took over from John Lovelady as the performer of Knock-Knock the Woodpecker on The Great Space Coaster. He went on to portray Magellan on Eureeka's Castle and Leon MacNeal on The Puzzle Place, and later played Kako on Oobi. His most widely recognized role came in 1997, when he originated the character of Bear in the Disney Channel preschool series Bear in the Big Blue House. That performance earned him a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series in 2003.

Since 2014, MacNeal has served as resident puppeteer on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he performs characters including Mr. Nutterbutter. In 2022, he joined the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors as the vacation and swing puppeteer and vocalist for Audrey II. In March 2025, he made his solo cabaret debut at 54 Below in an evening directed by Michael Kirk Lane, with musical direction by John Bronston and featuring Jennifer Barnhart and Fergie Phillipe.

Beyond performing, MacNeal has contributed to children's television as a writer on programs including Eureeka's Castle and The Puzzle Place, and as a director on episodes of Between the Lions. In 2023, he directed an episode for season 53 of Sesame Street.

MacNeal married author Susan Elia on November 6, 1999, at Manhattan's Union Theological Seminary. The couple's son was born in 2005.