Review: Dead Outlaw
A New Musical Hits Broadway and is stuck crawling in the race for Best New Musical.
Overall: 3/5 ★★★☆☆
I was so excited to see to see this new musical about a cowboy turned corpse turned sideshow. It hit a lot of my favorite themes: the Old West, Cowboys, and weird forgotten stories that are the reason Americans have a difficult timing talking about death. From the team that brought us The Band’s Visit, I had high hopes. But, there’s something frustratingly close to greatness lurking beneath Dead Outlaw — a musical with creative potential — but its third Broadway preview reveals a production still stuck in off-Broadway limbo.
Music: ★★★★★
The music is, without question, the highlight. The score soars — fresh, textured, and hits me with a contemporary twist on a Western feeling. There’s a pulse here that could absolutely carry a full house, and it deserves a staging that meets it on its level. You feel the ambition and the soul in the band. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to see the show again… just not yet.
Story: ★★★★☆
The narrative is compelling, blending outlaw myth with psychological nuance and moral ambiguity. There are moments of real narrative power, and the bones are strong. But it feels like the storytelling hasn’t yet fully adapted to the scale and expectations of a Broadway audience. I am not quite sure why they build the first half around the main character, Elmer McCurdy (based on a real person and true story), and then have him in darkness and stillness the second half of the show. I could have suspended my disbelief easily. We have already had singing corpses in Beetlejuice - I am ready. Pacing issues and tonal inconsistencies keep it from reaching the full emotional resonance it’s clearly capable of.
Cast: ★★★★☆
The performances are strong across the board, with a few standouts who manage to anchor the wobbly moments (set transitions are not there yet). Andrew Durand as Elmer is the standout. He is weird to look at and he has a beautiful voice that belongs in wide open spaces. Also, the heavy lift of six actors carrying a show is always a feat to behold. There’s a sense that the cast believes in this story — they’re committed, and their chemistry keeps the engine running. But they’re often working against the limitations of the physical production, which undercuts their efforts.
Set, Sound, and Lighting: ★☆☆☆☆
Here’s where the problems come into sharpest relief. The design feels like it never left the black box. The set is minimal to the point of distraction, the lighting lacks the dynamism (and it was so dark) needed to tell a story this rich, and the sound design is inconsistent — there were no police sirens in the Old West in 1911. It’s not just underwhelming; it’s actively undermining the experience. For Broadway prices and Tony eligibility, this simply won’t cut it.
Costumes: ★★☆☆☆
The costuming feels similarly tentative — more like sketches of ideas than finished designs or appropriate timing. There was an opportunity to design from 1911 to 1976! There’s a desire for character and period detail, but the execution falls flat. At times, it’s hard to tell if choices are meant to be stylized or just unfinished.
Final Thoughts
I wanted this show to be better. It’s got the heart and the talent, but the staging doesn’t yet support the story it’s trying to tell. Right now, Dead Outlaw still feels like it’s trying to figure out how to live on Broadway — and time is running out with the clock ticking toward Tony eligibility by the end of this month. Unless they can dramatically upgrade the production elements — and fast — this could be a missed opportunity for what should have been a knockout new musical.
I think I feel confident enough to write on Tony nominations this year, so I am excited to think about the other two leading new musicals that have my heart: Maybe Happy Ending and Buena Vista Social Club.