Originally from the Philippines, Marcus Figueroa has been singing since the age of 3, living and studying in the United States, the Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom.
At the age of 8 he played Oliver in the Broadway production of Oliver Twist, and while he's been in countless overseas productions, including Fame, Rent and Chicago, and has lived in Queenstown for the past three years, this is his first musical theatre role in New Zealand.
Mr Figueroa spends his days managing Language Schools New Zealand, but at night changes one letter in his name and becomes Marius.
Mr Figueroa said both he and Marius had the same passion for the ideal in life, and they react the same when in love - "as if they were in their own little unburstable bubble, even if amidst war and chaos".
Mr Figueroa said he was a "fanatic" about gadgets and technology, travelling and learning new languages.
He also enjoyed "leisurely driving with loud music and singing my heart out in the car", and said that playing Marius had always been his musical theatre dream.
"The intensity and the magnitude of the production was fulfilling in itself."
