About the Show

The Tony Award® nominated dark comedy musical about the outlaw-turned-corpse-turned-celebrity, Elmer McCurdy.

In 1911, Elmer McCurdy died in a failed train robbery. But that was just the beginning. Dead Outlaw is the darkly hilarious and wildly inventive musical about the bizarre true story of Elmer McCurdy, whose mummified body became a sideshow attraction for decades.

From the Tony Award-winning team behind The Band's Visit—composer-lyricist David Yazbek, book writer Itamar Moses, and director David Cromer—comes this genre-defying tale that explores fame, failure, and the meaning of legacy.

Featuring a rockabilly and country-infused score by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw brings to life the surreal journey of McCurdy's corpse across America. The production stars Andrew Durand as Elmer, with Jeb Brown, Julia Knitel, and Thom Sesma rounding out the ensemble. The creative team includes choreographer Ani Taj, scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado, costume designer Sarah Laux, lighting designer Heather Gilbert, and sound designer Kai Harada.

Following a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run, where it won Best Musical at the Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Dead Outlaw transfers to Broadway's Longacre Theatre.

Dead Outlaw received 7 Tony Award® nominations in 2025, including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Andrew Durand, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Jeb Brown, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Julia Knitel, Best Direction of a Musical for David Cromer, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score.

Critic Reviews (10)

" 'Dead Outlaw,' the feel-good musical of the season, if death and deadpan feel good to you."
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“Dead Outlaw...is entertainment for a paying audience, after all.”
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"That same level of commitment extends to all of Dead Outlaw. The writing is piquant and sly, the songs have verve and resonance, and every element of Cromer’s production seems to fit exactly in place."
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"Dead Outlaw’s peculiarities are enhanced by the way it foregrounds its cast’s own idiosyncrasies."
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"The musical has many diamonds in the rough. They’re just not polished properly by Cromer’s staging, which is awfully haphazard and diffuse for a typically sure-thing director."
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"The pair are singing a much different, more raucous tune as they transform Elmer's larger-than-life story into a rollicking, country rock concert complete with a whole lot of laughs and a surprising amount of heart."
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“Andrew Durand as Elmer McCurdy has certainly turned “playing dead” into an artform.”
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‘Dead Outlaw’ unearths the corpse of forgotten history to an infectious rockabilly beat — elevating a twisty little yarn into a bizarro-world elegy to how the American Dream can curdle into violence, cruelty, and casual indifference.
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