| History |

The Rag Dolly musical had a small cult following decades before RARE existed. Interest sparked in 1991 when it was mentioned in Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops by Ken Mandelbaum, and several enthusiasts of Broadway curiosities have discovered it through the book. Seasoned internet archivists Garrett Gilchrist and Vinnie Rattolle spent some time on the project, with previously unpublished demo tracks being uploaded to Vinnie's channel in 2013. Ivy Austin, an original Rag Dolly cast member who played Ann herself, uploaded A 1986 documentary titled Rag Dolly In The USSR that same year, giving the wider internet their first glimpse of the forgotten work.

Soon, other fans began searching as well. Such as Mckenah Rose, who began doing her own research and made early contact with members of the original cast. Mckenah, Garrett, and Vinnie are all still a part of the revival effort to this day.

In 2018, the channel Rag Dolly uploaded a full audio-only Broadway bootleg which had been circulating in collector's communities. As interest increased, other fans discovered a script avaliable for request from a New York archive, but it seemed as more people requested they began to tighten their grip on the material.

In 2019, media reviewer Colin LooksBack relased the video Looking Back on the Raggedy Ann Musical (On Screen and Stage), and soon after another video was posted by Zapzipap C. going over the script mentioned above. Many early members of RARE. can attribute their involvement due to these two videos alone!

RARE. began officially in Feburary of 2021, when our founder Gwyn discovered the Colin LooksBack video while ignoring her online classes. We have since grown to over 300 members and thousands of followers across various platforms, led by a close circle of a couple dozen dedicated organizers, researchers, writers, and actors who have helped get this movement where it is now. Over the years we have uncovered scripts, photos, and articles which have given us a clearer picture of the original production. We have made efforts to share as much information as we can, and soon had a fully updated Wikipedia page for the musical, as well as a hand in other videos and articles to share the word and prevent this information from becoming lost again.

It was discovered on 4/29/2021 that the New York State Archives had in their possesion what was then thought to be only act 1 of an early production of Rag Dolly. We immediately made plans to pay the digitization fee and obtain the footage, arriving to a RARE member's house via thumb drive on 7/11/2021, when we discovered it was in fact the whole show! We began adding captions to the video and performing the needed editing, and it was uploaded to YouTube 9/1/2021 under the name Lost Raggedy Ann Musical (Recovered ESIPA Footage 12/15/1984) [CC].

Once this footage was found, it was clear we had the possibility of more than just a lost media archival effort on our hands. We fell even more in love with the show itself, and the possibility for a revival shifted to the forefront of our plans. We started looking at our options moving forward, and contacting the estates of both the playwright and composer was the most important step. Contact with the Raposo estate had already been made, and a good relationship formed over the sharing of information. On 2/8/2022, we had made contact with relatives of William Gibson, and discussions began in the vein of a contract which would allow us to workshop Rag Dolly officially, with full legal permission.

By the fall of 2023, these talks were going well, and the enthusiasm for the show allowed us to consider a small concert at the Raggedy Ann Rally held in Arcola, Illinois each June. We acquired permission from the Raposo estate to perform, and began preparations with the sheet music, rehearsals, and venue. On 6/7/2024 at the Arcola Masonic Lodge, six performers with piano accompaniment presented the Rag Dolly Revue featuring nine songs from the Rag Dolly score. We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout of 60 audience members, plus our own volunteers, and the enthusiastic response by the community. It was a small but promising success, and we're now looking forward to our next workshop.