hateful maniacs || Raggedy Ann enjoyers || Mod General D: any/all || Mod Wowf: she/they/he || Mod YumYum: she/him || Mod Doll Doctor: she/her || Mod Fire Fins: he/him || asks welcome! ask us anything about the show, canon or fanon! || header image by @wishingyourworriesaway
NOT THE OFFICIAL RARE BLOG
The cause is silence, the silence is total, the total is nothing, the nothing is eternity!
Welcome to the evil blog! We'll be addressing the darker aspects of the show regularly but we'll be sure to put CW on the darkest stuff. There are multiple mods but we pretty much just use our signoffs for textposts, our art, or active convos, not 100% of the time.
This blog is not an official representation of RARE! That would be the actual RARE blog!
R.A.R.E. is a volunteer group attempting to revive the lost Raggedy Ann Broadway musical. Haven't heard about it? Check out these sources, or the official R.A.R.E. page:
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raggedy_Ann_(musical)
Lost Media Article: https://lostmediawiki.com/Raggedy_Ann_(partially_found_script_and_footage_of_Broadway_musical;_1985-1986)
Raggedy Ann Wiki Page: https://raggedyann.fandom.com/wiki/Raggedy_Ann_(musical)
is there any information about the circus production version of "I look and what do I see"? because it's the only song that doesn't seem to be available.
We don't know much about it, except that it wasn't in every version of the script we have, and the confirmed uses if it we do have don't include the lyrics. The audio available has other key musical moments that aren't included.
was rewatching @raggedyannrevivaleffort s epic proshot again and during you'll love it i noticed Wolf was going through it and crashing out in the bg the whole time and it made me laugh so hard I HAD to draw this (ft my goofy aa hc designs)
So I may have gotten really into raggedy Ann and made a cover of the broadway version of rag dolly so here’s that along with a speed paint of a drawing I made (just the art under the cut)
one thing I've been wondering about the circus version is if henny's in it because he's not mentioned in moving along (there was a part where I thought Marcela said his name but now I'm pretty sure that she said teddy) but in the photos there's a doll that resembles henny (though the photos seem to show more dolls than what were mentioned in the audio), I was wondering if you know anything about this or are you just as confused as I am.
Yes, that is in fact Henny mentioned in that line!
Henny is here, and the other Dutch doll Frederika has been renamed to Penny so they rhyme. The total list of dolls by the way are (in order of appearance in the program):
Uncle Clem - Gary O. Aldrich
Raggedy Ann - Ivy Austin
Jock in the Box (the Italian Jack-in-the-box) - Murray Phillips
Penny (the Dutch doll) - Caren McGee-Russell
Henny (the Dutch doll) - Michael Jahoda
Teddy Bear - Brian Kaman
Emily (the baby doll) - Carolyn Marble Valentis
Nanette (the French doll) - Jeanne Vigliante
Lance (the Southern tin soldier)- Stephen Carey
Raggedy Andy - Mark Baker
Sydney (the camel) - Joel Aroeste
If you want to read the entire program, you can find it on Internet Archive.
1983 Raggedy Ann and Andy (Circus Version/Tim Mason Version) synopsis:
DISCLAIMER: We only have very scattered materials from this show, so this is my best attempt to piece the plot together from multiple sources and writings from different points in rehearsal. Song names also may not be 100% accurate (or just never had an official name in the first place). We are respecting our agreements with those involved to not share specific materials, but we're doing our best to provide all the information we can about what the plot looks like!
It's long so click below to read it:
Act 1
Marcella’s family is moving from their home in Maple Plain to a new place in Apple Valley. Marcella’s older sister Stella tells her to pack and complains that she is too old for toys. Marcella reluctantly packs up her toys in their box (Movin’ Along), but after she leaves the dolls come to life and climb out. All but Raggedy Andy, who is still asleep, as Raggedy Ann has planned a surprise party for his birthday. The dolls worry that they overheard Marcella’s mother saying she’d throw them away, and when Ann tries to calm them, they counter that Marcella loves her and Andy best and even took them to the carnival. Ann describes what it’s like out in the real world (I Look and What do I See).
When he wakes up, Andy doesn’t care about the party or Ann’s present of candy hearts and paper flowers. He’s tired of living in the nursery and wants to get out to see the carnival (I’m No Girl’s Toy). Uncle Clem and Raggedy Ann tell him the tale of how all dolls come to life (Meg of Galloway), in which the doll named Meg was brought to life to rescue her sick little girl, and how that’s why all toys have been alive ever since. But after the rest of the dolls go back into the box, Andy rewrites over the packing label to send them to the carnival instead of their new home.
The movers take the box of dolls to Cornelius J. Tinker's World-Class carnival and Traveling Medicine Show (The Carnival Song), where we meet the owner Cornelius Tinker and his wife Tina Tinker. She complains that she had a shot at being a big star before her husband convinced her to join his run-down carnival as the bearded lady (Worst Little Carnival on Earth).
The box is left at their door, and all the dolls climb out. They’re confused, and angry at Andy for getting them lost, but all Andy cares about is joining the circus. Cornelius consults the carnival’s fortune teller, Fatima, who tells him strangers are coming into his life. At that moment, Andy sneaks into the tent to pitch his new show. Cornelius is amazed by the talking doll with no mechanics or puppetry, and immediately agrees to give them the headlining act (A Miracle). The dolls berate Andy again for revealing their secret of life to “the big people”, but all but Ann are swayed by his promise of fame and fortune, and go off to practice for the show.
We see Marcella and her sister, now in their new home, as Marcella is upset her dolls are lost. Stella says her parents will buy her new ones, but Marcella refuses.
Alone on the midway, Ann meets Sydney, the photographer’s prop camel who used to be a toy, but has been abandoned for years as a prop. Raggedy Ann and Marcella (still at home) share his sadness (Blue).
Tina has invited her brother, the gangster Big Frankie Malone (followed by his henchman Nickie) who has offered to take her back to the Big City and make her a star actress again. Cornelius promises Tina that their luck is about to turn around, because he has a brand new act that is sure to get people’s attention. Frankie, intrigued by the supposedly living dolls, forces her to stay. The dolls continue to rehearse for the big show (My Turn Now Part I) which is an all-out dancing revue (My Turn Now Part II). Frankie buys the act and the dolls are sent to pack up before the show goes on the road, but Ann has regrets and misses Marcella (Rag Dolly).
Act 2
Time has passed, and Frankie has taken the dolls on a grand tour all across the country. Radio reporter Walter Winchell describes their resounding success and how their popularity has inspired fashion styles, Clem look-alike contests, they got to meet Shirley Temple and the Teddy Bear was given the key to the city of Fargo. Scientists have begun to experiment on dolls, trying to determine if all dolls are alive and how. In an interview, Cornelius, who is the only one the dolls have talked to directly while not performing, tries to explain but is silenced by Frankie. Frankie appeals to the crowd that he doesn’t care about money or fame, only entertaining people (A Man With a Dream). Their next stop is the Big City, where they will play at the Bijou theater. Marcella hears the news over the radio, and plans to run away to find her dolls.
The dolls are waiting in the train car on their way to their next show, slightly disheveled from their time on the road. Raggedy Ann is growing tired, and Sydney tells them it’s because she has been away from Marcella for too long, without fulfilling their purpose as a kid’s toy they loose what makes them alive. Ann gets weaker and weaker, and Andy sings to her to cheer her up (Candy Hearts Part I) before deciding it’s time they went home. He stops the train, which draws the attention of the Big People in the car ahead. The rest of the dolls escape to the back of the train, but Andy and Ann are cornered by Frankie, who grabs them and threatens the Tinkers when they try to intervene. Nickie returns, having captured the others and locked them in the next car, and takes the lifeless Ann away with him (Candy Hearts Part II).
Marcella takes a train alone to the Big City, and tries to get help as she looks for the Bijou theater. Two porters carrying the doll box (which she does not recognize) refuse to answer her questions. Fatima arrives to tell Marcella her dolls need her. Fatima shares her life story and how difficult it was growing up as a child who always knew what was coming next (No Surprises), and offers to take Marcella to find the toys.
At the theater, Frankie is telling reporters again that the dolls don’t use mechanics or strings, they are alive and so are all dolls. Nickie throws Ann into a backstage trash can. Ann misses Marcella and laments on their situation (Somewhere). Andy, finally regretting everything he’s done, admits it’s all his fault (Where Do I Go Now?). He hatches a plan to get them all free, and convinces Cornelius to give him his large ring of keys. Andy sticks a key in each of the dolls’ backs to make them appear like wind-up automatons. Marcella drives at the theater and tells Frankie to give her back her dolls, but the gangsters threaten her and tie her up backstage.
Ann, feeling better but not knowing it’s because Marcella is nearby, climbs out of the trash to find the other dolls, and tells Andy she feels well enough to perform with them. The curtain rises on the all-doll revue, and the dolls begin to act mechanical and jerky. Cornelius runs onstage mid-song to “wind them up” again, and in the finale they all turn their backs to the audience, “revealing” the act to be a fraud (My Turn Now Wind-Down). The audience turns against them, and the dolls run off as the curtain closes. Fatima unties Marcella, and she reunites with her dolls and carries them off towards the train station. Fatima stops Ann, telling her she still needs to deal with Frankie, and handing her a large cream pie. Frankie appears on the false stage, booed and heckled by the crowd, and Andy shoves the pie in his face much to the delight of the audience. Ann and Andy rush to catch up with the departing train. Nickie appears and threatens them, but the Tinkers tackle him.
The train departs with Ann and Andy hanging precariously off the back, and disappears into the steam. When we cut forward, Marcella and the others are safe in Apple Valley, but Ann and Andy are nowhere to be seen (Movin Along Reprise). Suddenly, a kite flies in with them hanging on to the tail, and Marcella is reunited with all her dolls at last (Finale/Rag Dolly Reprise).
"-AND NOW I TAKE GREAT PLEASURE IN PRESENTING TO YOU -MY VERY OWN SISTER, THE SWEETEST DOLL A GUY CAN HAVE! IT'S RAGGEDY ANN!"
*Circus music entrance*
"THAT'S MY BROTHER ANDY!"
"THAT'S MY SISTER ANN!”
"WE'RE HERE TO ENTERTAIN YOU IN ANY WAY WE CAN! He wrote this stuff I didn't"
"YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL! Stick to the script!”
"WE'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES BY SHOWING WHAT WE DO! WE WANT TO TELL YOU WHO WE ARE AND GET TO KNOW YOU TOO! Golly Andy, this material is the worst."
