Great Arizona Puppet Theater Shows for Children and Families

Great Arizona Puppet Theater Shows for Children and Families features puppet presentations with a repertoire of over 60 shows, including options for both children and adults. The program includes special events such as a screening of “The Screaming Skull” as part of Dr. Zombie's Movie Lab of Terror and a frightful sing-a-long. The theater also offers traveling puppet shows at schools, libraries, child cares, and community centers, as well as access to a birthday party room, workshop areas for puppet construction, puppet storage, and use of a puppet library.

• Ages: 3–12 years old
• Schedule: Open year round with shows at the theater Thursday through Sunday, including specific productions such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Dr. Zombie's Movie Lab of Terror on scheduled dates and times
• Price: Tickets for Dr. Zombie's Movie Lab of Terror: The Screaming Skull are $15.

Great Arizona Puppet Theater is a non-profit professional puppet theater founded in 1983 as a touring company and now maintains a business office that is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The organization states a mission to advance and promote the art of puppetry, to celebrate Arizona’s culture, heritage, and ecology through puppetry, to educate children and their families, and to make a positive impact on the cultural climate of Arizona. The theater tours throughout the community, serving a total audience of 85,000 annually, mostly children, and is part of the Puppeteers of America. Director and co-founder Nancy Smith leads the theater. The program has received multiple recognitions, including being named New Times “Best Entertainment for Kids” and “Best Children's Theater,” UNIMA-USA Excellence in Puppetry for “Cinderella,” several National Puppet Slam wins between 2012 and 2023, and awards such as the Governor's Heritage Honor Preservation Award and the Mayor's Environmental Education Award.

Last updated January 10, 2026.