1983 "Raggedy Ann and Andy" synopsis
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 and his wife Tina. She believes at first that the moving men are talent scouts, and 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 (Newsreel). 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 plan to 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 has begun to grow 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 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 pass by, carrying the doll box (which she does not recognize), who 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 the two hanging on to the tail, and Marcella is reunited with all her dolls at last (Finale/Rag Dolly Reprise).