Elmer McCurdy was an ambitious, turn-of-the-20th-century outlaw whose death at the hands of a Western posse ended a life of failed crime and alcoholism and began a brilliant career as a mummified side-show attraction that travelled the USA for decades. By the time this journey ended, his name had been forgotten and his desiccated body was hanging in a house-of-horrors ride at an amusement park in Southern California, spray-painted a day-glo orange. Then one day, a grip for the “Six-Million Dollar Man” TV show jostled what he thought was “just a dummy” and an arm fell off, revealing a human bone and beginning a hunt for the origins of this enigma.
It would be easy to exploit Elmer’s story, to play it entirely for laughs. “Dead Outlaw” has lots of those, as well as a healthy sense of absurdity. But if it forgot Elmer’s humanity — and it never does — it would lose its soul.
A blockbuster cast of eight and a powerhouse five-piece band deliver it with full-blown mastery and full-out commitment, with not a single weak link among them, as they transition fluidly from scene to scene, character to character, gallows humor to tragic pathos, sensitive ballad to psychobilly and country-western to Vegas lounge-act musical stylings.
2024 | Off-Broadway |
Audible Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
2025 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Itamar Moses |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | David Cromer |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical | Thom Sesma |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical | Andrew Durand |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical | Heather Gilbert |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | David Yazbek |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | David Yazbek |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | Dead Outlaw |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Erik Della Penna |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical | Arnulfo Maldonado |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Musical | Kai Harada |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical | David Cromer |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Musical | Dead Outlaw |
2024 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Musical | Itamar Moses |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Itamar Moses |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | David Cromer |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Thom Sesma |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Julia Knitel |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Andrew Durand |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical | Jeb Brown |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | Dead Outlaw |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Erik Della Penna |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | David Yazbek |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Director | David Cromer |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical | Thom Sesma |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical | Andrew Durand |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical | Jeb Brown |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Musical | Dead Outlaw |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Scenic Design | Arnulfo Maldonado |
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