First of all: The mask is removed.
Ever since country singer Orville Peck was announced as the next host of Rebecca Flecknall's “Cabaret” mega production, the invested circle has been eagerly speculating about Peck's signature accessories. How can he deliver a performance worthy of Broadway without the worthy feelings of full face?
However, in a recent interview, the singer confirmed that he will not be hidden when he made his Broadway debut later this month.
“The mask is part of my representation as an artist and a very big personal part of me,” Peck, 37, said in an interview (in the mask) at a private hotel in midtown Manhattan. “But I'm here to do this role, bring respect and integrity and hopefully a good performance to it. That's not about me. I'm not trying to make it an Orville Peck show.”
It's been a long time since he was played without a mask, Peck said he expects to feel “a little shaking” in his first performance on March 31. Maybe his fans are like that too.
It was announced in January that Peck, a gay man, will replace Adam Lambert in the current Broadway revival of Kander and respected 1966 musical “Cabaret,” when the Nazis come to power. (Joel Gray created the role of a mysterious host, and Eddie Redmayne did that in this production.)
The maskless performance could be out of Peck's comfort zone, but the stage isn't. He grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and grew up with his parents who worked in the theatre world. His father was a sound engineer and his mother was a guide.
Peck said he studied ballet and tapped as a boy and later danced and acted professionally. A longtime country music fan, he eventually moved to a country music artist counting Johnny Cash and Merule Haggard as inspiration and Willie Nelson and Kylie Minogue as duet partners.
However, Peck's background is playing in punk and hardcore bands, which may best inform him of his performance in “Cabaret.” At least, that's how he and the cast members appeared during recent rehearsals when they ran through the show's opening number “Willkommen.”
With short hair, he wears a black T-shirt over his lean torso – and no mask – Peck didn't look like a German FOP who piques curiosity at a Berlin nightclub.
Take care that he crossed the makeshift stage, Mr. Peck flexed his muscles, squinted his eyes, singing with a booming baritone. But then he stretched out his legs and lifted the heel on the other side, and the split protruded the pan. Butchfempushpull, which defines his country persona as being there, was there, even if he had no mask.
After the rehearsal, Peck collapsed to the floor. “I feel the most tired I've ever felt in my life,” he said with a laugh.
In an interview, Peck explains that his signature mask (stylistically, ranging from the lonely minimalist ranger to the biggest Bordello curtain) makes him feel safe enough to open himself artistically, an artistically vulnerable position. But Peck said it was not a difficult decision to abandon it at “cabaret.”
“I probably didn't necessarily do this for what reason,” Peck explained. “But this is probably my favorite musical.”
Peck said he recently came across a diary he wrote at the age of 14. What he didn't expect was to be on the show. As he said, “I don't feel like we're a period, a throwback.”
“I don’t think anyone will come to see the show if your politics are in vain.
Peck's dance cards have been full since returning to New York, where he lived for about a year after returning from Los Angeles. He recently attended the opening of a photo exhibition by his friend Norman Reeds, joining Carnegie Hall's Patty Smith and other singers for a benefit concert for Tibet House US.
Also fill out his New York social calendar: dining at Cafe Guitarne, concerts at Brooklyn Steel, evenings on his couch, cheer on Onya Neuve, the front runner of the current season of “RuPaul's Drag Race.” His eyes brightened when he portrayed watching the video of Onya singing “Maybe this time” through his mask, a memorable song by Liza Minnelli in the film adaptation of “Cabaret.”
“It's incredible,” he gushed, “My biggest group of friends in the gay scene is usually drag queens wherever you are.”
Peck said he enjoys wandering around with his friends – not masked! – At Eagle, gay leather bars in Manhattan, a popular draw for Jock Strap Night.
“Ironically, once I put on my mask, I suddenly stopped anonymous,” he said. “The strange part is that I'm anonymous. I just take my mask off and walk around like normal, then no one knows who I am.”
Peck said one day he would consider doing another musical. He said he would probably consider playing El Gallo, the bandit narrator from “The Fantasticks.” (His cast recording collection leaned more towards the golden age than the digital age.
For now, Mr. Peck has abandoned his disguise and resonated in peace.
“The change is good,” he said. “There's nothing lasting.”
