Orville Peck is set to perform unmasked for his Broadway debut in Cabaret.
- READ MORE: Orville Peck – ‘Bronco’ review: masked man bares his soul with retro-country razzle-dazzle
The country crooner is well-known for sporting a cowboy hat and a fringed face mask as a way to conceal his face. Last August, however, the ‘Dead Of Night’ singer altered his presentation, switching the long face-covering tassels for a mask that is a bit more revealing.
At the time, he said the move “was a little nerve-wracking” and made him feel “a little naked”, but added that it was a necessary change that allowed him to “evolve”
Earlier this year, it was announced that Peck would join the cast of Rebecca Frecknall’s Broadway revival of Cabaret, replacing Adam Lambert. Peck has since shared he’ll be playing the role of the Emcee unmasked.
“The mask is part of my expression personally as an artist and a very big personal part of me,” he told the New York Times recently. “But I’m here to play this role and to bring respect and integrity and hopefully a good performance to it. It’s not about me. I’m not trying to make it the Orville Peck show.”
Kander and Ebb’s 1966 musical follows the the goings-on at a hedonistic Berlin nightclub as the Nazis come to power, and the Emcee had previously been played by Eddie Redmayne. Talking to NME about the part in 2023, the actor said it was “so thrilling when something you’ve dreamt of supersedes your expectations.”
Regarding his unmasking for the role, Peck said: “I wouldn’t have necessarily done this for just anything, but this is probably my favourite musical of all time.” He will make his Broadway debut on March 31.
Talking to NME previously about how he channels his identity in his work, Peck said there was beauty in presenting a “heightened version” of yourself, “so it’s really sincere on one hand and on [the other] hand it’s larger-than-life, but it’s nice that those things can live side-by-side.”
He had previously touched on people’s attempts to ‘unmask’ him and reveal his identity, saying it took away his artistic expression and fed into homophobic critiques of him and his work.
“Traversing this industry as a gay country musician I already endure daily hate, bullying, aggression and people actively trying to discredit what I do,” he shared. “All I ask is that people respect my work (and more importantly) my fans enough to maintain this crucial part of my expression as an artist.”
Last year, the singer shared ‘Death Valley High’, his collab track with Beck, which appeared on ‘Stampede’ The album also featured ‘Midnight Ride’, the masked singer’s collab with Kylie Minogue and Diplo as well as ‘You’re an Asshole, I Can’t Stand You (and I Want a Divorce)’ featuring Margo Price.
‘Stampede’ served as a follow-up to Peck’s 2022 LP ‘Bronco‘. In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: “This is a rich landscape: wholly modern and proudly queer. It’s an album of unabashed growth, as the artist gets in his feelings but never veers into self-pity.
“The masked cowboy is – paradoxically – baring his soul, unbridled and all the better for it. On ‘Bronco’, Peck wears his identity as matter-of-factly as the album’s retro-country razzle-dazzle. Allow him to sweep you away on horseback into the dusty sunset.”
Back in May, Peck released his EP ‘Stampede: Vol. 1 which featured a duet with Willie Nelson on a cover of “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” which Nelson previously recorded as well as Elton John singing a duet of “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” with Peck.
The post Orville Peck to perform unmasked for Broadway debut in ‘Cabaret’: “It’s not about me” appeared first on NME.