Rag Dolly (Raggedy Ann musical)

I recently discovered this flop show that is arguably even more infamous than Carrie due to being aimed at children and being Darker and Edgier to an extent usually reserved for European fairy tales.

Much like that show just a few years later, it only played Broadway for 5 performances. Like that show, the reason it failed was its severe tonal dissonance, this time between the music and lyrics by Joe Raposo of Sesame Street musical deity and the extremely bleak book by William Gibson (the writer of The Miracle Worker).

I figured I'd start a thread to discuss the show here. The fan Discord is great and all, but this site will always be my first port of call when fandoms are concerned.

Edited by Theatre_Maven_3695 on Sep 9th 2021 at 3:24:16 PM

Apparently it was going to be based on Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, but that didn't happen. (My grandma taped the csrtoon for me on VHS!)

What a strange, dark show, but the strangest part may be the Surprisingly Happy Ending. The regular Raggedy Ann page mentions it as well, and that Wikipedia page's development section is interesting—" In passing, she told the fabled story of Johnny Gruelle creating the Raggedy Ann character to entertain his sickly daughter, Marcella, who died at the age of 14. He recalled, "I stared at Snyder and said, Wow. That's a potent item, didn't it occur to anyone that's where a book begins?'" Continuing, he exclaimed, "I was hooked; death is a subject that always brings me to life as a writer."

Sounds like a trope page in the making!

EDIT: There was a Raggedy Ann and Andy musical in 1981, too, that was based on the film.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 9th 2021 at 1:15:00 PM

If you want to help with a page, that's great. Me, I'll be working my ass off in the discord helping at writing, workshopping, and eventually angel-ing a North American revival once the Raposo estate is persuaded (we're throwing out big chunks of that creep's twisted mess of a story, starting with (squick warning) the villain's pedophilic lust for the little girl.)

Edited by Theatre_Maven_3695 on Sep 9th 2021 at 8:22:48 AM

Do you think it should go under Theatre.Rag Dolly, Theatre.Raggedy Ann, or Theatre.Raggedy Ann The Musical Adventure?

Also, looks like it was partly found! https://lostmediawiki.com/Raggedy_Ann_(found_script_and_footage_of_Broadway_musical;_1985-1986)

Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 9th 2021 at 1:14:06 PM

I'm pretty sure "A Musical Adventure" was an official subtitle. I can double check with R.A.R.E. (the Discord) and get back to you.

According to a mod in R.A.R.E., Raggedy Ann was the Broadway title, with that being the title on most of the playbills people recognize. And they're not sure whether The Musical Adventure was an official subtitle. So I'd go with Raggedy Ann, with Rag Dolly as a redirect.