The Great Arizona Puppet Theater Flourishes in Former Downtown Church
Tommy Cannon has one of the most unique and fun jobs in Downtown Phoenix. “Dinosaurs, trains with faces, sharks, and even Winnie the Pooh come to life before my very eyes,” he says. “I’ve seen normal-looking dads turn into total weirdos playing with their kids with items in the gift shop.”
Cannon’s occupation? He’s the office manager and an occasional puppeteer at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater.
The theater's headquarters are unusual, too. Phoenix features older buildings and grander structures, but its building, located at 1120 N. Third Ave., has a singular achievement: it changed the course of a freeway.
The intriguing story begins in 1929, when the two-story Spanish Colonial Revival building was designed by LDS Church architects Hyrum Conrad Pope and Harold W. Burton. The Phoenix LDS 2nd Ward Church was dedicated in 1932, with a seating capacity of 400 people.
The building featured an unusual design. The recreation hall was built perpendicular to the chapel so that those in both spaces could view speakers, which became standard in many LDS churches. The interior featured a domed ceiling supported by Moorish columns, with stenciled, hand-painted decorative motifs on the arches.
In 1972, the LDS Church sold the building to the Arizona Department of Transportation for a right-of-way to construct the Inner Loop of Interstate 10. It seemed like the building's time was up, with demolition imminent, but public outcry saved it. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and the freeway's route was slightly altered.
For several years, the building was known as the Arizona Historical Society Museum Annex, and the Phoenix Arts Council also used it. The Great Arizona Puppet Theater, a non-profit professional puppet theater founded in 1983 as a touring company, bought the property in 1996.
“It was very much a wreck, with a seriously leaky roof, no electricity, no hook-up to city sewer,” noted puppet theater co-founder Nancy Smith in 2013. “It took three years of renovation, which led to the opening of part of the building in 1999.”
The former church’s social hall is now the auditorium, while the former chapel features a lobby, gift shop, and exhibits. The puppeteers perform at the theater and also hit the road, doing shows at schools, libraries, and community centers throughout the state. “Sometimes, I leave the office and do something fun like perform as an astronaut tiger, a ghost, and even a talking donut,” Cannon says.
Cannon’s upcoming show at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater, titled “Dr. Zombie’s Movie Lab of Terror,” opens Friday, September 12, 2025. “It’s a comedic screening of trashy public domain horror and sci-fi movies,” he says. “I point out the scary parts by heckling the film, and invite the audience to join in on the heckling too.” The 1956 movie, Evil Brain from Outer Space, where Starman tries to save Earth from Balazar, an evil genius from the planet Zemar, will be screened for the September show.
Dain Gore will portray Zombie Dave, the undead art professor, for Dr. Zombie’s special puppet segments. “I promise that you will laugh your slimy face off,” Cannon says.
Cannon’s shows are only a portion of the theater’s extensive calendar, which includes the ever-popular adult puppet slams. “You never know when the next cool thing is coming your way at the Great Arizona Puppet Theater,” he says.
Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, www.arizcc.com