🔪 Friday the 13th: The Parody Musical
October 4–28, 2019
October 7–30, 2022
The Playhouse on the Park Theatre – Phoenix, AZ

Superstitious locals warned us not to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, but we did it anyway—and what followed was a full-blown puppet massacre... set to music.

In this unhinged horror parody, All Puppet Players brought Jason Voorhees to life as a singing, dancing, machete-wielding felt-murdering maniac. It was bloody. It was tacky. It was glorious. According to BroadwayWorld, it was “f*ing funny as hell from start to finish**.”

🎶 The counselors sang.
🪓 Jason slashed.
👙 Puppets flashed their boobs (yes, felt ones).

All while showtunes from Hamilton, Hairspray, Wicked, and more were gleefully bastardized by lyricists Shawn Collins and Shaun Michael McNamara to fit the plot of a summer camp bloodbath. You Can’t Stop the Beat became a body count. Puttin’ on the Ritz turned into a dance number from Hell. Nothing was sacred. Everything was hilarious.

The 2019 debut was overstuffed—too many songs maybe, too much runtime—but the 2022 resurrection came back leaner, meaner, and sharper. Tighter script. Great singers. Bigger laughs. It finally found its voice—and that voice was screaming.

Fourth wall breaks, puppets with personality disorders, and a blue Ron Burgundy-style Dr. Loom monologuing about booze and blood all made appearances. One reviewer called it, “the funniest show I’ve seen in Arizona in years.” Another claimed, “I had my panties ready to throw.” And yes, someone actually peed themselves laughing.

Everything from the puppets (including a horrifying Mrs. Voorhees head with a blinking white eye) to the karaoke-style orchestra tracks was done on a shoestring budget—but the payoff was Off-Broadway-level joy. It was Avenue Q meets Happytime Murders, only darker, dumber, and much more felted.

Some say Jason has claimed his final victim. Others believe he’ll rise again. Either way, Friday the 13th: The Parody Musical carved its place in APP history with blood-soaked flair.

Performances ran:
October 4–28, 2019
October 7–30, 2022
(Counselors were slashed. Felt was flashed. And Jason found the beat.)