The new Broadway show Dead Outlaw has caught critics’ attention for its wild, true-life plot and focus on the American obsession with legacy.

While the current climate sees the majority of plays and musicals adapted from previously written stories or concepts, Dead Outlaw offers a fresh story based on the life of the criminal Elmer McCurdy. 

McCurdy, an outlaw at the turn of the 20th century, was killed in a shootout in Oklahoma in 1911. His mummified body was discovered in a California amusement park in 1976. When no one claimed his body, a coroner began to display it for money. McCurdy’s preserved body went on to be shown at carnivals and sideshows for decades after his death, a spectacle that inspired many copycats.

With a score by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, Dead Outlaw premiered off Broadway in 2024 and opened on April 27, 2025, at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre.

The musical explores a variety of themes, such as what it means to build a legacy on earth, the meaning of life and death, and the public’s fascination with tragedy and discomfort. With a five-member band on stage supporting the plot with folk-rock music, Dead Outlaw has been described as a blend of an Americana concert, a radio play and a musical. The play received seven nominations for the 2025 Tony Awards, including a nomination for Best Musical.

In an interview with Billboard, Yazbek and Penna speculated on the deeper meaning of the musical’s plot and its inception.

Asked what made them think to examine McCurdy’s story through music and performance, Penna said, “It was just such an odd story that it’s immediately compelling – anybody I tell the story to is immediately interested. I consider myself a student of American music and of history in general, so this kind of hit all my buttons for those interests.”

Reflecting on the meaning of fame and the American obsession with leaving a mark on the world, Yazbek said, “I have his memory of when I was maybe 15, I wrote a short story for a class, and it was kind of about that ephemeral idea that for some reason being remembered will afford you some degree of immortality. It’s just another f—ing illusory comfort, but it really does drive people, sometimes for their entire lives — this idea of, ‘Oh s—, I’m gonna die. But wait a minute, I’ll be remembered! I’ll have a legacy!'”

He added, “Even the word legacy is dangerous. It’s why some people amass much more wealth than they should and put their name on buildings.”

Dead Outlaw is now playing on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre (220 W 48th Street). Get tickets here!

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Article by Baila Eve Zisman

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