Dead Outlaw: A New Musical by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna
May 2, 2023
Elmer McCurdy was an ambitious, turn-of-the-century fuckup whose death at the hands of a Western posse ended a life of failed crime and alcoholism and began a brilliant career as a mummified side-show attraction that travelled the USA for decades.
By the time this journey ended, Elmer’s name had been forgotten and his desiccated body was hanging in a house-of-horrors ride at an amusement park in Southern California, spray-painted day-glo orange.
Then one day, a grip for “The Six-Million Dollar Man” TV show jostled what he thought was “just a dummy” and an arm fell off, revealing a human bone and beginning a hunt for the origins of this enigma.
Emmy, Tony®, and Grammy winning composer and performer David Yazbek has been haunted by this true story for thirty years. A few years ago, he shared it with his friend and bandmate Erik Della Penna and as the two of them discussed why this tale of money, ambition, fame, memory and death was so compelling, they started writing songs for a potential stage-piece based on this odd life and these universal yet somehow very American themes. As they began recording these songs, they realized they were onto a song-cycle that is unique to anything they’d heard or written before.
Now, Yazbek’s collaborators from The Band’s Visit, Itamar Moses and David Cromer, are working with the composers on a new stage musical, due to come out in 2024. Until then, Yazbek and Della Penna will tell the story, backed by a world-class band. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see how a future classic is born.
Please note that all artists and acts are subject to change at any time.
