Dead Outlaw Reviews
New York Theater- Recommended
"...'"Dead Outlaw" is a lark, the kind of idea hatched at a late night smoke-hazed party in a college dorm that would normally not survive under the light of the following day. That it has survived and even thrived - transferred to Broadway! - is surely a testament to the talent, persistence and ingenuity (if not consistent good taste) of its creators. Like Elmer McCurdy himself, "Dead Outlaw" lives on."
New York Post- Somewhat Recommended
"...I quite enjoyed the scrappy first incarnation last year, and still admire the score by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna that stitches together rockabilly, campfire songs, lounge music and folk into an eerie Americana soundscape that's punchy and unsettling."
Washington Post- Somewhat Recommended
"...Written by Itamar Moses and directed by David Cromer (who both collaborated with Yazbek on the delicate and haunting "The Band's Visit"), "Dead Outlaw" generates a steady hum of intrigue from the you-won't-believe-it facts of Elmer's case. But the artistry is in the telling, and in the mucking around to figure out what it was all for, if anything."
Chicago Tribune- Recommended
"...Marketers for "Dead Outlaw," a decidedly unlikely Broadway attraction that has moved uptown from the Minetta Lane Theatre with original cast intact, have focused on the novelty value of a musical about a dead body, but that really doesn't tell you much, even if the first titled number in the show goes, helpfully, by "Dead." (Investing in this show sure took some guts.)"
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"..."Dead Outlaw," the offbeat musical from the team behind the Tony-winning musical "The Band's Visit," isn't mincing words with the title. The show, which had its official opening Sunday at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, tells the story of the unsuccessful career of a real-life bandit, who achieved more fame as a corpse than as a man."
The Observer- Highly Recommended
"...Dead Outlaw drives the final nail into the 2024-25 Broadway season, and I've never felt more alive. Elmer McCurdy's funeral is the party of the year: wall-to-wall country and rock bangers, a dynamite cast, and a story too weird to be true. Elmer's tale is uniquely American, a bizarre chronicle of greed, crime, and bad taste."