We get a lot of questions about our process and plans. If you'd like to submit a question to see it answered here, please fill out this Google form or email us at theraggedyannrevivaleffort@gmail.com.
Q: What Can I Do to Help?
A: Get the word out! It's cheesy, but it's true. When it comes down to making the big decisions, having more demand for Rag Dolly's return might just be what tips the scales in the hearts of investors. Be loud! Be passionate!
- As a fan:
- Make fan art, write fan fic, sing song covers, dress up in cosplay, etc.
- Support us on Kofi! And keep an eye out for any future fundraising calls.
- If you're a content creator (or aspiring creator!), talk about Rag Dolly and RARE. We'd be happy to help out with research.
- Similarly, encourage creators you know to look into the show.
- Tell us what makes you excited about Rag Dolly and what it means to you!
- As someone in the theater business:
- We would love to hear from professionals with any advice they have going into workshops.
- Email us to discuss licensing if you'd like to organize a workshop yourself.
Q: Can I (or a theater company I know) produce Rag Dolly?
A: Yes! With some technical details. Our licensing journey is still in progress, so performances of Rag Dolly must be managed through direct involvement with RARE. We are excited to hear your enthusiasm for the show, so please send any questions or requests to our email! More specifics can be found on our Contact page.
Q: Are you going to bring Rag Dolly back to Broadway?
A: No.
As theater artists, we strongly believe that there are shows made for Broadway, and shows that are not. Broadway tickets are expensive, and people are very selective in what they choose to see. Musicals that are successful on Broadway usually have large sets, large casts, and larger-than-life broad appeal. A "Broadway Musical" is a genre as much as it is a title. It's a lot of pressure to put on the production team and the show itself to compete for attention and make a profit.
Meanwhile, many shows that did not do well on Broadway have done much better off-Broadway, or in community theaters. Look at The Addams Family, Seussical, or You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (the latter's original Broadway run lasted only 32 shows). With the attention on the project, we aim to bring more love and respect to off and off-off-Broadway theater.
We have also seen the way Rag Dolly has thrived internationally. In a sharp contrast to the few original productions, these performances are done with the bare minimum of sets and costumes needed to portray the story, sometimes none at all. We also look to the success of our 2025 staged reading, where audience members commented that the pulled-back and low budget staging— even the stage directions being read aloud by the ensemble— strengthened the storybook atmosphere and their experience.
Even without a Broadway budget, we still want to preserve the show for future generations in the form of a proper album and proshot. But preserving Rag Dolly as a piece of theater that is able to be actively performed at any scale is what is most important to us.
Q: Why is it taking so long? How long will this take?
A: As a volunteer effort, we can’t expect to be a priority. Members of RARE and the people we work with have lives and jobs, and we are very grateful for the time they have given us for free, but they cannot always put our project first. Additionally, theater can be an expensive art form! There is a lot of demand and competition for investors and grants, many of whom will not be exactly inspired by a show whose last full-scale production was a colossal "flop". The journey to revise not just Rag Dolly itself, but its public image, is ongoing
Here is our current timeline:
- 2024-28: Begin workshops
- These are smaller, low-budget productions in order to work out the changes in our script and music, as well as to drum up more attention.
- We have already produced our first staged reading in February 2025!
- If you would like to know more about participating in this step of the journey, visit our Contact page.
- 2027-28: Put on a proper inaugural production of our revised script
- To achieve our licensing goals, we are required to stage a production in an equity theater
- By 2029: Solidifying licensing for other parties
- With your help, maybe it can be sooner!
Our biggest hurdle is, of course, money. Our second hurdle is recognition— we aren't producers, or big actors, or known names of any sort. That's why attention on the project is our current goal, and will help move the timeline along.
Q: What is your approach to revising and rewriting the script?
A: We don't intend to water down or declaw the show, and instead preserve as much of the original material as possible. Many of the organizers have had personal experiences relating to the story, and Rag Dolly has spoken to us in a way that we hope to share with others.
Through our revisal process, we are often looking at many different versions of Gibson's script to pull together, using brand new writing only when necessary to shift the context and tone of original work. We also do extensive research into the past work and lives of the playwright, composer, and Raggedy Ann's creator Johnny Gruelle— documented in our dramaturgy list. As a very simplified view, here's a summary of our key points:
Maybe hide for SPOILERS
- Removing offensive or unnecessarily graphic material
- Replacing Panda with Teddy, a new teddy bear character who instead quotes literary greats
- Toning down realistic sexual and graphic imagery, and finding ways to inspire a similar visceral audience reaction through the language of a fantastical nightmare
- Strengthening Marcella as the central figure with agency in her own story
- Rallying around Bat and Wolf as further representations of the "perfect family" that has been lost
- Returning scenes where they are the focus
- Using them to continue the story of Poppa and Mommy and carry that narrative throughout
- Give each side character a direct purpose in the main story
Q: Is Rag Dolly a "kids show"?
A: We are sticking with the original recommendation, which is 9 years or older.
Though there is nothing explicit or adult, Rag Dolly is not children's theater. It features some intense themes, dry humor, and slow dramatic moments that are not designed to keep little kids in their seats for two hours. We strongly believe that it is a family show: the plot, characters, and humor are tailored for adults as much as children. We also strongly believe that the show's serious topics are important for older children to see themselves represented in, and that adults should be prepared to discuss Rag Dolly with them.
Q: What do you want people to take away from this show once it's revived, what themes are you trying to strike in people?
A: We believe that Rag Dolly was written to help its young audience name their own worries and fears of death, and give them the tools to process those fears. William Gibson, the playwright, made his intentions for the themes clear:
"Far from morbid, his altitude seems to celebrate life. 'Our experiences contain so much pain. Non-artists have to live with these painful episodes, but a writer can use them for a creative act. When you've used them, most of the time you've mastered them. You sublimate the pain.' Asserting that death brings him to life as a writer, Gibson expressed the strong opinion that 'kids shouldn't be shielded. Pets are dying. Relatives are dying all the time. We’ve got to educate kids to facts of life and death and let them learn to cope. It's there. To ignore it is stupid.'"
- 1984-11-3, Schenectady Gazette - William Gibson Puts New Meaning Into ‘Raggedy Ann' Musical
Even if we think these emotions are too intense for young children, they deserve validation and not just a distraction. Loneliness, grief, and isolation lead in this case to a "broken heart", which is healed through the love and care of people around you. We hope the audience comes away with the willingness to acknowledge their nightmares, to tell the child within them that their fears are heard, and there are people who care.
Q: Does RARE have interest in the rest of the Raggedy Ann franchise?
A: RARE is very close with the larger community of Raggedy Ann collectors! We enjoy participating in the Raggedy Ann Rally each year in Arcola, and have made many friends in our multiple years attending. We're all doll collectors ourselves, and love to share the warmth and joy of the characters even outside of the musical. Rag Dolly is not the only piece of Raggedy Ann media we work to preserve, and as side projects we also digitize movies, records, books, and cassettes that risk being lost to time. These are, however, just side projects.
Through our online presence and research, we love teaching young fans about the history of the character and the community and forming bridges between the two groups. We also hope that in future years, we can provide more resources on how more people can attend the Rally and other meetups!