'Dead Outlaw' Broadway review — a gleefully lurid true story
Read our review of Dead Outlaw on Broadway, a new musical playing at the Longacre Theatre after an award-winning world premiere off Broadway in 2024.
"Your mama's dead. Your daddy's dead. Your brother's dead. And so are you." Believe it or not, that blunt declaration is actually the chorus of this season's catchiest show tune.
That's actually the least shocking thing about Dead Outlaw, the musical legend now being told at Broadway's Longacre Theatre after a lauded Off-Broadway premiere last year. Would you believe me when I tell you a 30-year-old bandit's corpse got posthumously famous thanks to decades of exploitation in carnivals, museums, movies, and theme parks across America?
If not, maybe you'll believe the Band Leader (Jeb Brown, excellent), Dead Outlaw's nameless narrator who repeatedly reminds us every detail of the titular Elmer McCurdy's story is true in between a lineup of rollicking folk rock songs by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna. Even if they weren't, the tale would make for engaging entertainment; it spans nearly 100 years (1880-1977), and you never anticipate where it will go next.
Dead Outlaw moves through its plot like a speeding train, most of Itamar Moses's script leaning on narration as the remaining seven actors, all but Andrew Durand (as McCurdy) embodying multiple characters, act it out on the periphery of a raised platform on which Brown and his onstage band play. The show's setup and bevy of characters leaves little breathing room to emotionally invest in most of them, but for better or worse, that's not the point.
The point is fun, so the musical makes no attempt to tone down the sensationalism or shock value surrounding McCurdy. McCurdy's spectacularly bungled robberies (there were multiple) play like sitcom mishaps. A pair of opportunistic carnival impresarios look straight out of a stereotypical barbershop quartet. The coroner who performs Elmer's final autopsy (Thom Sesma, having the time of his life) goes full Frank Sinatra in "Up to the Stars," in which he regales us with stories of the celebs he's dissected.
Dead Outlaw surely has an implied message about making the most of life and the horror of profiting off a human, even a criminal one, who couldn't object even if his jaw hadn't been wired shut. But mostly, it's as gleefully lurid as the sideshows and wax museums that once seized on the real McCurdy, telling his story with all the bombast of a carnival barker telling morbidly curious crowds to step right up, folks. Dead Outlaw, too, is entertainment for a paying audience, after all.
As such, I found myself most invested in the Band Leader, whom Brown plays at turns like that carnival barker, a nomadic and sympathetic troubadour, and nutty professor telling a (not-exactly-)tall tale. We don't learn his story, but we have to trust him to hook us on McCurdy's with flair. In that regard, Dead Outlaw succeeds thanks to Brown and the cast of characters he conjures, notably Sesma's coroner, the tender Julia Knitel's handful of open-hearted young women, and more of McCurdy's relatives, associates, and owners (Eddie Cooper, Dashiell Eaves, Trent Saunders, and Ken Marks complete the Dead Outlaw cast, the entirety of whom return from the Off-Broadway run).
And of course, there's McCurdy himself, played by Durand with a boyish verve that stops in its tracks when the actor must, equally impressively, become a corpse. McCurdy's death is the show's quietest and most reverent moment, after which the only sign of life from Durand is the slight rise and fall of his chest, which you won't even notice from more than 10 rows back. A century ago, people marveled at the outlaw's dead-ness, while here, you marvel that Durand is really alive.
Dead Outlaw summary
Dead Outlaw tells the true story of Elmer McCurdy, a restless outlaw who died at 30 in a shootout in Oklahoma. He might have been forgotten there and then — but when no one claimed his body, his coroner started charging people for a glimpse of "the bandit who would never be taken alive."
McCurdy's corpse proceeded to pass between sideshow impresarios, movie directors, wax museum curators, and amusement park operators who changed his name, his backstory, and his look to suit their enterprises. Only 66 years after his death was McCurdy finally laid to rest.
Dead Outlaw premiered at the Minetta Lane Theatre off Broadway in 2024, and it won Best Musical honors from four theatre awards organizations that year.
What to expect at Dead Outlaw
Dead Outlaw was originally commissioned by Audible Theater to ultimately end up as an audio drama after a staged run. Knowing this makes the show's narration-forwardness make a lot more sense. Director David Cromer's staging is therefore simple (but effective), and the sound design (by Kai Harada) is particularly detailed.
So is the music, Dead Outlaw's undisputed highlight as it incorporates a century's worth of American musical styles. The vibe is distinctly "garage band jam session" – off Broadway, the smallness of the venue made it feel like we were right in the garage with them. On Broadway, the comparative vastness of the theatre, including the sheer amount of empty space above Arnulfo Maldonado's self-contained set, makes it feel more like we're perhaps watching them play while sitting under an endless rural sky.
What audiences are saying about Dead Outlaw
As of writing, Dead Outlaw has an 80% audience approval rating on Show-Score. While some reviews are mixed, most theatregoers praised the performances, the Americana score, and the original and quirky nature of the story.
- "The show was clever, sad, but funny, and beautifully staged. Some of the songs were stunning, absolutely magical! 'Leave Me Be and 'A Stranger took my breath away. I was in the balcony but didn't feel like anyone in the orchestra had a better view than I did, an absolute rarity!" - Show-Score user Aly P
- "A quirky, offbeat musical that was probably more effective Off- Broadway in an intimate setting. There are wonderful directorial touches throughout and a very talented cast with an attractive score. However, there are also tedious stretches, and the show fails to gather a dramatic momentum and emotional connection to justify the move. Andrew Durand, Thom Sesma, and Julia Knitel are particularly effective in their roles. Having believed the hype, I felt somewhat disappointed, although there is much to admire in this handsome and sometimes affecting production." - Show-Score user MusicMajor
- "Almost felt like I was at a country dive bar at times." - Show-Score user Sharkboy
- "If you're a fan of media about the old American west like Red Dead Redemption II, then this is a great show for you to see. A show that makes you think of your legacy and your life choices, and where do you want to leave this earth-and in what way. I went in blind and it was a great choice." - Show-Score user Gracey L
Read more audience reviews of Dead Outlaw on Show-Score.
Who should see Dead Outlaw
- Fans of other folksy musicals like Bright Star, Swept Away, Once, and the currently running Floyd Collins will surely want to hear Dead Outlaw's rollicking Americana score on repeat. Even fans of the folk, bluegrass, and/or Americana styles in general would find these songs right at home on their radio stations or Spotify playlists.
- If you've ever wanted to check out Madame Tussaud's wax museum, a mummy exhibit, or anything in the Ripley's Believe It or Not! franchise, you probably have an interest in the wonderfully weird — and Dead Outlaw is perfect for your tastes. Elmer and his story would fit right into any of those places.
- If you're more of a concertgoer than a theatregoer, you'll enjoy Dead Outlaw. When specific characters take the mic, they by turns transform the onstage band's garage-jam vibe into a raging rock concert, a soulful musical confessional, and even a Sinatra-style lounge act.
Learn more about Dead Outlaw on Broadway
With a rousing score and ace cast, Dead Outlaw makes a strange-but-true slice of American history come to entertaining and energetic life.
Photo credit: Dead Outlaw on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)
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