A Corpse with a Curtain Call: Tony Award nominee Andrew Durand

 

Tony Award nominee Andrew Durand - Photo credit: Andy Henderson

A Corpse with a Curtain Call: Elmer McCurdy Resurfaces on the Streets of New York

The corpse of a legendary outlaw appeared on the streets of New York City today—again. Sort of.

Commuters at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, tourists outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and joggers in Central Park were all taken aback this morning to find a coffin on display, carrying the likeness of Elmer McCurdy, the infamous 20th-century outlaw whose posthumous career has long overshadowed his brief life of crime. But this wasn’t a historical reenactment. It was Broadway.

Tony Award nominee Andrew Durand, currently starring in Dead Outlaw—the seven-time Tony-nominated musical now playing at the Longacre Theatre—appeared in character as McCurdy, bringing new life to the embalmed folk anti-hero who, after being shot dead by a posse in 1911, spent the next six decades as an accidental sideshow attraction.

Directed by Tony winner David Cromer (The Band’s Visit), Dead Outlaw is a darkly comic and visually arresting musical that follows McCurdy’s unlikely journey—from failed train robber to mummified roadshow fixture—raising questions about fame, futility, and the absurd endurance of American myth-making.

The show, which opened April 27 to rave reviews, features a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Itamar Moses (The Band’s Visit), with music and lyrics by Tony winner David Yazbek (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty) and Erik Della Penna. It is currently nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Originally produced Off-Broadway by Audible Theater, Dead Outlaw made an immediate impact on the 2024 awards circuit, claiming top Best Musical honors from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, the Drama Desk Awards, the Outer Critics Circle, and the Off-Broadway Alliance. The New York Times called it “The surprisingly feel-good musical of the season,” while USA Today declared it “The best musical of the decade.”

Today’s stunt—a public display of McCurdy’s now-iconic coffin, complete with a live embodiment by Durand—was both macabre and fitting for a show that insists dying is no reason to stop living. In Dead Outlaw, legacy is elusive, identity is fluid, and even corpses have curtain calls.

Tickets to Dead Outlaw are available at www.deadoutlawmusical.com, Telecharge, or by calling 212-239-6200.

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