Orville Peck Will Forgo His Signature Mask for His Broadway Debut

Fans are about to get their first look at Orville Peck’s face. The country singer, who’s known for wearing a mask over his face, is gearing up to make his Broadway debut.

Videos by American Songwriter

After the announcement revealing Peck would replace Adam Lambert as the Emcee in Cabaret was made, fans wondered if he’d continue covering his face while onstage. However, in an interview with The New York Times, Peck revealed that he’d be bare-faced on the Great White Way.

“The mask is part of my expression personally as an artist and a very big personal part of me,” he said. “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.”

As for what fans will see when Peck is unmasked, Erik Piepenburg, the Times journalist who conducted the interview, attended a rehearsal where he saw the singer’s face.

“The butch-femme push-pull that defines his country persona was there, even if his mask was not,” he wrote.

How Orville Peck Feels About Going Mask-less

Peck admitted that he’ll likely feel “a little shook” about his lack of mask during his first performance on March 31. However, he said that he is confident in his decision.

“I wouldn’t have necessarily done this for just anything, but this is probably my favorite musical of all time,” he said. “… Change is good. Nothing is permanent.”

Peck has been wearing a mask since 2019 when he released his debut country album, Pony. Since then, the masks have intentionally gotten smaller and smaller, but have not ever vanished completely.

“Not to get too deep about it, but it’s sort of a parallel with my songwriting and with just who I want to be as an artist and a person, which is to always be more vulnerable and reveal a bit more of myself through my music,” he previously told Rolling Stone. “So it’s kind of just the evolution. I don’t know where it’ll end up and I don’t know how it’ll look in the end. I don’t make any plans about it. But I think that’s important.”

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images Tibet House US