Starring as Tony in West Side Story on an open-air stage over Sydney Harbour is a dream come true for former Canberra boy Billy Bourchier who says he owes his career to his teachers at Marist College and to local theatre legends Coralie Wood and Stephen Pike.
"This is major," he said, of the show.
"I'm hoping for me it's the first page in the next chapter of my career, the beginning of more lead roles.
"It really is a dream come true. For many people, West Side Story is the musical and every tenor on the face of the planet would love a chance to play Tony."
Rehearsals have been underway for three weeks for the smash-hit musical, part of the Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour program.
The season runs from March 22 to April 21 on a huge overwater stage on the harbour at Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie's Point.
The backdrop for each performance is the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, from sunset, with fireworks going off "at a poignant moment in the show".
Billy, who already loves performing live, says this show takes it to another level.
"I love the audience reaction when something wonderful or unexpected happens," he said.
For Billy Bourchier - no relation that he knows to the ABC's Dan Bourchier, but he's going to do a bit of research of the family tree - Canberra was where his career began.
He was born in Calvary Hospital and first lived with his parents Annette and Trevor and older brother Joel in Wanniassa, later moving to Pearce. Billy attended Gowrie Primary until grade three.
From grade four to year 12, he was a student at Marist College, where, like all the other students, he had to audition for the school choir.
"The teachers saw that I had potential and encouraged me to get vocal lessons," Billy, 30, said.
While at Marist, Billy also won the Richard and Roma Flynn Music Bursary, which covered a portion of his fees, as well as music tuition.
"Marist has been very, very supportive of me and that continues, even to this day," Billy said.
The performer also paid tribute to Coralie Wood and Stephen Pike, from the Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Awards, who pushed for him to audition for the 2007 musical Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat when he was still a young schoolboy.
Billy said both Coralie and Stephen had been instrumental in nurturing his love of amateur theatre and leading him to the point where he could make performing his profession.
"My career doesn't happen without those two," he said.
Coralie, meanwhile, says "Billy was a beautiful soul and still is", performing often at the CAT awards.
"Oh, I love him. I love him to bits," she said.
"I'm just so proud of him."
In 2012, the family moved to Queensland for Billy to start studies at the Conservatorium of Music.
He has steadily worked his way to leading man, taking starring roles in musicals such as Miss Saigon and The Book of Mormon.
"I feel like I've served my time, I've earned my place," he said.
Billy is married to Jessica, who he met at a church youth group in Canberra, and the couple has a two-year-old daughter, Harper.
- Tickets for West Side Story on Sydney Harbour are here.
