So there's this obscure Raggedy Ann musical that exists.
So, there's three Raggedy Ann musicals out there that I know of. One of them is the movie, which is fucked up as all hell, but I have a soft spot for it despite its flaws. Then there's the Broadway musical, which is frightening and disturbing and not in a good way. (Let's say it deserves its own post, mostly chocked full of horrified macros and .gifs. Seriously, its poster looks like a pulp cover.) It dropped after five showings and I still can't find the soundtrack anywhere. While scrounging the Internet for it for my own masochistic curiosity, I found another musical with Raggedy Ann & Andy that is virtually unknown. At least I have never heard anyone talk about it.
And what's this? It wasn't a disastrous flop at its release? And it was popular?
"When stars Fred and Dorothy Stone loped onstage as Raggedy Ann and Andy in the 1923 Broadway musical "Stepping Stones," Gruelle's little rag dolls were an instant hit. By 1924, "Stepping Stones" was playing to capacity crowds across the U.S., and Raggedy Ann and Andy had endeared themselves to an avid, theater-going audience. The production's catchy songs, written by Anne Caldwell and Jerome Kern, were published as sheet music and even inspired a fashionable foxtrot-style dance known as "the Raggedy Ann." All this activity gave an added boost to already-brisk sales of Gruelle's books and dolls.
Like other children's authors before him (including L. Frank Baum of Oz fame), Gruelle relished seeing his book characters brought to life on the stage. However, "Stepping Stones" was neiher the first nor the last time the Raggedys were invited to star in a theater production.
Less than a year after Raggedy Ann had made her 1918 book debut, Joseph M. Gates had approached Gruelle, asking him to consider a Raggedy Ann musical. "Stepping Stones" grew from this seed, and following its success, Gruelle would continue to receive requests to use his Raggedy characters in everything from elaborate stage productions to modest puppet plays. He usually granted permission.
Where the Volland Company was concerned, however, Gruelle was more protective. Having agreed to share dramatic and moving picture rights with Volland for anything based on his Raggedy Ann Stories, Gruelle wisely retained exclusively for himself the rights to all subsequent Raggedy Ann and Andy books. Gruelle remained hopeful that he would someday collaborate with a famous composer to create the quintessential Raggedy Ann stage production." ~Raggedy Ann and More: Johnny Gruelle's Dolls and Merchandise by Patricia Hall. p. 78
Google's not helping me much, but "Stepping Stones" is supposed to be a comedic take on "Little Red Riding Hood." Hell, Ann & Andy are on the cover.
I love a lady who has black shoe button eyes,
I love a lady with a rag bag in her head;
In a parade of dumbbells she would take the prize;
But when it comes to ragtime she would knock 'em dead.
~"Raggedy Ann" Anne Caldwell and Jerome Kern 1924
Jerome Kern did a ton of well-received musicals and musical movies for four decades back in the day, but today we know him through some of his songs ("Ol' Man River", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Way You Look Tonight") and "Show Boat."
But wait! There's more!
Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann, was a fan of Fred Stone and L. Frank Baum. Gruelle wrote a scenario for a stage show, which was never produced, in which the Scarecrow of Oz, played by Fred Stone, met Raggedy Ann. In 1923, Fred Stone and his daughter, Dorothy Stone, starred as Raggedy Andy and Raggedy Ann, respectively, in a musical extravaganza titled Stepping Stones with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Anne Caldwell.
I can't find anything else about "Stepping Stone," but I managed to find music files of the "Raggedy Ann" song.
Dear lord, all this research is making me feel old. Whether it's the 20s or 70s, what humongously different time periods Raggedy Ann came from compared to the 90s-2000s!
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/46932.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!
And what's this? It wasn't a disastrous flop at its release? And it was popular?
"When stars Fred and Dorothy Stone loped onstage as Raggedy Ann and Andy in the 1923 Broadway musical "Stepping Stones," Gruelle's little rag dolls were an instant hit. By 1924, "Stepping Stones" was playing to capacity crowds across the U.S., and Raggedy Ann and Andy had endeared themselves to an avid, theater-going audience. The production's catchy songs, written by Anne Caldwell and Jerome Kern, were published as sheet music and even inspired a fashionable foxtrot-style dance known as "the Raggedy Ann." All this activity gave an added boost to already-brisk sales of Gruelle's books and dolls.
Like other children's authors before him (including L. Frank Baum of Oz fame), Gruelle relished seeing his book characters brought to life on the stage. However, "Stepping Stones" was neiher the first nor the last time the Raggedys were invited to star in a theater production.
Less than a year after Raggedy Ann had made her 1918 book debut, Joseph M. Gates had approached Gruelle, asking him to consider a Raggedy Ann musical. "Stepping Stones" grew from this seed, and following its success, Gruelle would continue to receive requests to use his Raggedy characters in everything from elaborate stage productions to modest puppet plays. He usually granted permission.
Where the Volland Company was concerned, however, Gruelle was more protective. Having agreed to share dramatic and moving picture rights with Volland for anything based on his Raggedy Ann Stories, Gruelle wisely retained exclusively for himself the rights to all subsequent Raggedy Ann and Andy books. Gruelle remained hopeful that he would someday collaborate with a famous composer to create the quintessential Raggedy Ann stage production." ~Raggedy Ann and More: Johnny Gruelle's Dolls and Merchandise by Patricia Hall. p. 78
Google's not helping me much, but "Stepping Stones" is supposed to be a comedic take on "Little Red Riding Hood." Hell, Ann & Andy are on the cover.
I love a lady who has black shoe button eyes,
I love a lady with a rag bag in her head;
In a parade of dumbbells she would take the prize;
But when it comes to ragtime she would knock 'em dead.
~"Raggedy Ann" Anne Caldwell and Jerome Kern 1924
Jerome Kern did a ton of well-received musicals and musical movies for four decades back in the day, but today we know him through some of his songs ("Ol' Man River", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Way You Look Tonight") and "Show Boat."
But wait! There's more!
Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann, was a fan of Fred Stone and L. Frank Baum. Gruelle wrote a scenario for a stage show, which was never produced, in which the Scarecrow of Oz, played by Fred Stone, met Raggedy Ann. In 1923, Fred Stone and his daughter, Dorothy Stone, starred as Raggedy Andy and Raggedy Ann, respectively, in a musical extravaganza titled Stepping Stones with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Anne Caldwell.
I can't find anything else about "Stepping Stone," but I managed to find music files of the "Raggedy Ann" song.
Dear lord, all this research is making me feel old. Whether it's the 20s or 70s, what humongously different time periods Raggedy Ann came from compared to the 90s-2000s!
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/46932.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!