Show Summary

🧠 Frankenstein Has No Legs
Original Run: November 4 – 20, 2011
The Maverick Theater – Fullerton, CA
Revival Run: October 6 – 28, 2017
Playhouse on the Park – Phoenix, AZ

“It was then that my destiny was decided… All because of a lightning storm.”

And with that bolt from the blue, All Puppet Players brought Mary Shelley’s iconic monster lurching into the felt-covered spotlight. Frankenstein Has No Legs was APP’s second full production—and the first to prove that puppets could do more than make people laugh: they could make people feel.

Funded with the help of a scrappy Kickstarter campaign, this show expanded the growing puppet arsenal and brought with it something new—emotion. For the first time, audiences gasped, cried, and fully bought into the idea that these foam-and-felt characters were real, raw, and deeply human. It was a true adaptation of Shelley’s novel—no green skin, no neck bolts, and, as the title promised, no legs.

Performed at The Maverick Theater in California, this production marked the moment APP shifted from puppet gimmick to puppet storytelling. Victor Frankenstein’s descent into obsession, and the creature’s thirst for understanding and revenge, were played straight—even as the fourth wall cracked and puppets threw shade from the shadows. This was horror. This was drama. And yes, it was still pretty damn funny.

After APP’s move to Arizona, the show rose again in 2017, reanimated for a second run at Playhouse on the Park. The revival brought new eyes to a foundational piece of APP’s history—a show that balanced darkness and comedy with haunting precision.

Frankenstein Has No Legs remains a turning point in the company’s journey. It was weird. It was bold. It was heartfelt horror in a way only APP could deliver.

Performances ran:

November 4 – 20, 2011 – The Maverick Theater, Fullerton, CA

October 6 – 28, 2017 – Playhouse on the Park, Phoenix, AZ
(Lightning struck. Legs were optional. And the puppets got serious.)