Catch Andrew Durand on a “wanted” poster — because his Dead Outlaw opening-night look is a must-have.
Durand, who stars as real-life outlaw Elmer McCurdy in the Broadway production of the new musical by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna with a book by Itamar Moses, takes Parade behind the scenes to dish all about his red-carpet look for the big night.
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“I knew right away that I didn’t want to go traditional. I pretty much always go [with a] suit and tie,” he exclusively told Parade two days before his opening night at the Longacre Theatre on Sunday, April 27, noting that he “feels good” and “looks good” in his go-to style, but wanted to switch it up for the Dead Outlaw carpet.
“It was definitely nontraditional. I teamed up with this guy named Jake Sokoloff,” Durand explained. “I’m so happy with how it turned out. The dress code is outlaw-chic, is what it says on the invitation. We have a nod to Western sideshow carnival vibes in the outfit, but we didn’t want anything to feel costume-y. It’s all very elevated and feels true to me.”
Durand’s outfit — a black jacket with a “nod to Western embroideries” coupled with a “meshy, see-through tank” and pinstripe trousers with “a lot of varying colors and thickness of stripes in them” — is the perfect combination of carnival sideshow and chic, thanks to the “cool” black boots that elevate his look.
“And then we’re doing a tie around the neck that is like a silk bandana that I’m going to [add a] little slider [to that can] go up and make it a tie, sort of,” he added.
A Broadway veteran, Durand — who has originated roles in productions like Shucked, Ink and Head Over Heels — went on to tell Parade what it means to open another new Broadway show.
“It’s incredibly special. I mean, one of the things I love and hate about this business is that each job could be your last. It probably won’t be, but I like to think that every time I open a new Broadway show, I feel equally as grateful because it could never happen again,” he said. “The odds are it probably will, but it could never happen again. So I like to just appreciate each one individually, and each one has its own road that you had to navigate to get there. So, it always feels like a triumph.”
Dead Outlaw, which Durand called a “hybrid musical play rock concert” with “so many thrilling theatrical elements,” is based on the real-life story of McCurdy, an outlaw who was killed in a shootout after robbing a train in 1911. His mummified body was later displayed at an Oklahoma funeral home before becoming a staple in the traveling carnival and sideshow circuit in the 1920s.
In a coffin on display for most of his onstage performance, Durand told Parade that he’s picked up a few tricks for remaining impossibly still.
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“I just try my best,” he told Parade. “I set up little mile markers, little goalposts, whatever you want to call it. I say, ‘Okay, in 20 seconds somebody’s going to walk in front of me so I can blink or swallow,’ or, ‘After this song, they’re going to move me from this spot to this spot.’ And while I’m being moved, I can sort of wiggle my toes or imperceptibly turn my head a little bit. I just set up little things that I can get to help me get through it.”
Durand is celebrating his opening night at Sony Hall with a few special people in attendance, including his representation, girlfriend Lisa and longtime friends.
“I’m just looking forward to getting to celebrate this — the culmination of this chapter of the experience with everyone,” he said of the new musical, which originated Off-Broadway in February 2024. “When you’re putting up a show in previews and tech rehearsals, you’re all working so hard that it is hard to look up from your tech table or look up from your position on stage and really take everybody in and have appreciation for what it took from everyone to get us to this place. Opening night is a place where we can all come together in the light and see each other’s faces and share our appreciation for each other’s work.”
Dead Outlaw opens on Broadway on Sunday, April 27.
PHOTO CREDITS
Photography: Emilio Madrid
Jacket: Straight to Hell
Tank: Todd Snyder
Trousers: Etro
Boots: Stacy Adams
Nicktie & Slider: Vintage Tailor Raquelle Pedraza
Stylist: Jake Sokoloff
