The Tony nominees of 'Dead Outlaw' celebrate their unlikely Broadway hit

The folk rock musical received seven nominations including Best Musical, as well as nods for its book, score, and actors Andrew Durand, Jeb Brown, and Julia Knitel.

Dead Outlaw, a rollicking and tuneful musical about the life, death, and post-mortem fate of an Old West bandit, nabbed an impressive seven Tony Award nominations, including for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Director of a Musical, and three acting nods. New York Theatre Guide's critic hailed the show as “gleefully lurid.”

“I've been doing this for a long time, and it feels so cool to finally have made it to this moment in my career,” said leading actor nominee Andrew Durand, who stars as Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw killed by posse in 1911. “I'm so happy that it is with this show and with this company of people.”

Following his death, McCurdy’s mummified corpse became a sideshow money-maker. The varmint was finally buried in the 1970s. As such, Durand spends half frozen motionless in a coffin gazing out at the audience.

For the first-time Tony nominee, it’s the best seat in the house. “One of the benefits of standing in that coffin so still all night is that I get to look out into the audience,” said Durand, last seen on Broadway in Shucked. “I can see people's reactions – mouths are agape with shock and laughter. It’s so exciting to get to see that.”

For featured actor nominee Jeb Brown, who plays the onstage bandleader and another outlaw, his Tony nod is a cap on five decades of acting. “I made my Broadway debut 50 years ago this year,” said Brown, who played one of the kids in the mid-1970s revival of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. “I've watched the Tonys every year since I can remember, it was always a family event, and it means the world to me. Of course, there's a little dream that you might somehow be in that room someday, but this is maybe even a little beyond that.”

Brown chalks it up to being in the right show at the right time. “There seems to be some magic in the Dead Outlaw experience, both for audiences and for the company.”

Featured actress nominee Julia Knitel plays Maggie, who falls for Elmer under one of his aliases and comes to understand how little she knew about the real man. The role adds a tenderness to the rough-and-ready show: “People are appreciating this softness within the roughness of the greater piece,” she told New York Theatre Guide. “It's been really cool to sit in that softness with the audience.”

Even cooler, she admitted, is a Tony nomination for doing something she loves. “It’s the coolest day of my life. The grown woman, Julia, is overwhelmed, and the inner child is absolutely freaking out today,” she said. “I'm so proud, because I'm so proud of the show, and so proud of the team that made it.”

That team includes her show’s other Tony nominees: Itamar Moses (book), David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna (score), and David Cromer (direction). Tune in June 8 to watch the Tony Awards air live from Radio City Music Hall to see how this awards standoff plays out.

Get Dead Outlaw tickets now.