Broadway star Sierra Boggess thinks twice before diving into the sea of online comments — a rule she made for herself right before making a splash as Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
“I’ll always remember the very first time when I was about to make my Broadway debut and no one knew who I was,” Boggess, 42, exclusively told Us Weekly on Sunday, April 27, at the Broadway opening of Dead Outlaw. “Google was a new thing. It was 2006. I remember seeing someone say, ‘Who is this nobody Sierra Boggess?’ I learned to never Google myself again from that.”
Well, that “nobody” quickly proved her naysayers wrong: The Little Mermaid premiered in 2007 and earned Boggess a long career on Broadway. She’s since appeared in various Broadway productions like The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock and Harmony.
“Calling somebody a nobody is about the worst thing you can do because it’s devaluing someone’s presence in the world,” Boggess said. “My takeaway from that is making sure I’m never the one that’s treating people like they’re nobodies. It’s nice for us to be all flashy and celebrated, but we’re creating pieces of art that includes everyone involved.”
She concluded, “So never be the problem. It’s a good motto!”
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Boggess attended the Broadway opening with her husband, Canadian filmmaker Stefano Da Fre, to support cast member Thom Sesma. She wrote via Instagram, “So unbelievably proud of our friend @thsesma who is giving a brilliant performance in @deadoutlawmusical.”
Per the play’s logline, “Dead Outlaw is the darkly hilarious and wildly inventive musical about the bizarre true story of outlaw-turned-corpse-turned-celebrity Elmer McCurdy. As Elmer’s body finds even more outlandish adventures in death than it could have ever hoped for in life, the show explores fame, failure, and the meaning — or, utter meaninglessness — of legacy. Dying is no reason to stop living life to its fullest.”
In real life, McCurdy was killed in a shootout after robbing a train in 1911. His mummified body was later put on display for decades — passed between carnivals, wax museums, and haunted houses — before finally being put to rest (under six feet of concrete, no less) in 1977.
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The cast includes Andrew Durand as Elmer McCurdy, Jeb Brown as Band Leader/Jarrett, Eddie Cooper as Coroner Johnson, Dashiell Eaves as Louis/Charles Patterson, Julia Knitel as Helen/Maggie, Ken Marks as George, Trent Saunders as Andy Payne and Sesma as Coroner Noguchi.
Dead Outlaw is currently playing at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre.
