Die Fledermaus: Ned Bell, Sheryl MacKay appear as extras

Ned Bell is often considered a bit of a celebrity chef in the Vancouver's culinary scene, but it turns out the man is as natural on stage as he is in the kitchen.

Bell, the executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver, will play an extra in Vancouver Opera's production of Die Fledermaus on Thursday.

Die Fledermaus is a comedy set in Vienna in the late 19th century. It tells the high society story of Gabriel von Eisenstein, a rich man who becomes the victim of an elaborate joke played by his friend Dr. Falke.

Donning a tuxedo during a recent dress rehearsal, Bell said he was honoured to be on stage.

"I went to home ec class instead of drama class in high school, so this is new to me," he told North By Northwest's Sheryl MacKay, who will also make her opera stage debut on Thursday as an extra in a big party scene.

"You really get the sense of the work and the effort and the technique and the skill and the vast amount of people it takes to put on a show like this."

Nancy Hermiston, who is directing a production of Die Fledermaus for the fourth time in her career, says she never tires of it because the story is so lighthearted and funny.

"I never get sick of it because when I was performing, it was always fun. When I'm directing it, it's fun," she said.

"And of course, the second act is a party, so the chorus is dancing and the leads are dancing and it's just got to look like a real party, like a Mardi Gras."

Other notable Vancouver personalities taking part in Die Fledermaus include Bard on the Beach artistic director Christopher Gaze, who plays a drunken jailor.  

Die Fledermaus plays at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Feb. 28 to March 8.

To hear more about Sheryl MacKay's backstage experience click on the audio labelled: Behind the scenes of Die Fledermaus at the Vancouver Opera.