When Christopher Villasenor, 19, took his first flight as Peter Pan — yes, he "flies" mid-air as the youth who never ages — he woke up the next morning with bruises.

"It was a new experience, and painful," he said.

As the title character of the family musical based on the James M. Barrie classic, opening tonight at Diamond Head Theatre, Villasenor has to don a safety harness that restricts his freedom somewhat. So he's had to learn to sing with this thingamajig strapped to his 145-pound frame beneath his costume. While he soars.

"And just walking around with that thing was initially tough, like learning to walk all over again," he said.

He's not complaining, really; he's actually enjoying the experience in Neverland.

But there have been challenges. And a brief bout with the flu, which brought on a fever. Nonetheless, he's been immersed in conquering the Peter Pan dynamics.

"I feel pretty good about it," he said a few days after his first flight. "But I still need to put in a lot of work. I probably fly in three or four different occasions. And I sing. It's all about getting used to it. It hurts, but I can smile; it's called acting."

Following a widening trend, Diamond Head Theatre cast a male — instead of a customary female — to play Peter Pan, who battles Indians and Captain Hook.

"We decided to buck tradition and do it with a boy," said John Rampage, DHT's artistic director. "Kids today are far too savvy (they'd know if it's a girl playing a boy), and the last time we did the show five years ago, even my own nephew couldn't understand why a girl would be Peter Pan."

Ever since Mary Martin originated the role on Broadway in 1954, the central figure has widely been performed by an actress. Over the decades, Sandy Duncan in 1979 and Cathy Rigby in 1990 have embraced the role. Only one male, Jack Noseworthy, played Peter Pan on Broadway — but it was part of 1989's "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" revue.

"At first, I felt a little unsure," Villasenor said. "My friend, Elizabeth Harrison, recreated the role the last time (at DHT). The songs that were written are generally sung by a female, and I have the vocal range of a baritone. But I'll be singing a little higher, to portray Peter's youthfulness."

His first memory of Peter Pan was the movie "Hook," with Robin Williams. "Peter Pan was all grown up. But I eventually saw the cartoon, too," he said.

Villasenor, whose theatrical training largely is in dance, not acting, said he particularly enjoys Peter Pan "because he is a creature of impulse. He likes to live in the moment, something I can relate to, because I'm impulsive, too. When I first started rehearsals, I was playing him young; I didn't realize that he's an emotionally immature character, with feelings of abandonment, who is a lot of times frightened, but covers this up with cockiness. That's the challenge."

He graduated last year from Mid-Pacific Institute, after taking acting sessions at Diamond Head Theatre, where he was a member of the Shooting Stars kiddie corps of singers and dancers. "I played Aladdin when we did that show," he said. "I also was Jason Baga in 'You Somebody.'"

Villasenor is high on a career on Broadway — and already had trekked to the Big Apple in search of his dream.

"I was going to school there, but taking a break this semester," he said. He was attending the Manhattanville College and wants to return early next year.

"Theater is my passion," he said. "I want to act."

His first DHT show was "Hello, Dolly!" in 2004; his last was "Les Misérables," which closed in October.

"I like the chance to be somebody else, exploring a role, and entertaining people — you know, having the feeling that you made a difference in their day," he said.

And, fortunately, he's not afraid of heights.