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Lions tailback Joique Bell makes his Broadway debut Wednesday in "Rock Of Ages." (Photo courtesy Whitney Holden Gore | Vivacity Media Group)

NEW YORK -- Joique Bell went undrafted out of Wayne State less than four years ago. Now he's not only starring in the Detroit Lions' backfield, but also on Broadway and even ringing the bell at the NASDAQ.

And Bell, who took a winding and difficult path into NFL prominence, is relishing every moment of the spotlight. Or the stage light, as the case was Wednesday night when he made his Broadway debut in the musical "Rock of Ages."

"I grew up always hearing about Broadway plays, but I had never been a part of it," Bell said after the performance at the 597-seat Helen Hayes Theatre on 44th street in Manhattan. "I really enjoyed it. It's kind of like Sundays. You got a big crowd out there, and there's no time to be nervous."

Joique Bell rocks out during Wednesday's performance in "Rock of Ages."

Bell had a minor role as a bartender in the production, but it was a memorable turn in a musical that was uproariously funny.

"Rock of Ages" is set in Hollywood's glitz-rock scene of the mid-1980s. A small-town girl -- 3,333 Waffle Houses away from L.A., the narrator quips -- falls in love with a singer in the Sunset Strip's most famous rock club. Their story unfolds to the stylings of rockers such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Guns N' Roses and Pat Benetar.

It was one part '80s sing-a-long, one part irreverent comedy, and wholly entertaining.

Bell, dressed in leather pants, studded leather jacket and bandana, certainly looked the part for his four short cameos. His only line came when he was offstage and the narrator threw a Playbill at him.

"Ow! My big toe!" Bell exclaimed to laughter from the near-capacity crowd. The line included some improvisation.

"I was going to say, 'Ow, my knee!'" Bell later explained. "But I didn't want to jinx myself."

The narrator responded: "Sorry, Joique Bell of the Detroit Lions. I thought you'd be a little more quicker."

Bell spent about 8 minutes on stage during the two-hour show. His most memorable moment arrived at the performance's conclusion, when he danced across the stage with a football and twirled around a pole.

He finished off the night by offering the crowd a little taste of Detroit. As the performers took the stage for their curtain calls, Bell was front and center performing his hallmark Hip-Hop Hooray touchdown dance with actress Neka Zang.

The crowd -- which featured a couple of Bell's relatives and representatives from his agency, as well as a few Lions fans -- cheered wildly.

"They said do something you're comfortable with, and I was like, 'Shoot, let's do my touchdown dance,'" Bell said. "She was like, 'Oh, they're going to love that.' So we came out, I did it, and I kind of added in the grabbing peoples' hands (in the front row) because, rock 'n' roll, that's what they do.

"No one was standing up, so I couldn't do the crowd surfing."

Joique Bell slaps hands with the front row after his performance in "Rock Of Ages."

There were nearly 600 people packed into the small theater, just a fraction of the 65,000 Bell plays in front of on Sundays at Ford Field. But he says this environment offered a different kind of pressure.

"It's fresh out here too, because you don't have a helmet on," he said.

"Rock Of Ages" has been performed more than 1,900 times over the past four-plus years. His representation, Allegiant Athletic Agency, hooked up Bell with the part through a cross-promotional opportunity with the Super Bowl.

Green Bay receiver Randall Cobb appeared on stage Tuesday night, while former tailback Ahman Green will take a turn Saturday.

"I went backstage, and they said I outperformed (Cobb). With that being said, the Lions over everybody," Bell said with a laugh about his NFC North rival. "Detroit versus everybody. One pride."

Bell had never performed on stage before -- not even in a drama class -- but earned the respect of the cast as a quick study with a big stage presence.

"What a rock star he is, right?" said Kate Rockwell, who played the female lead. "He comes out, so comfortable, he's just hanging around the pole, he's out front and center. You can't scare him. Stage lights are nothing for you."

Bell's turn on stage is just the beginning of a packed week for him in New York. That includes ringing the bell at the NASDAQ on Thursday morning with NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith and Uber chief business officer Emil Michael.

Bell later will attend various Super Bowl functions, including the GQ party, the Madden Bowl and the ESPN party. But none of those opportunities will top that 8 minutes he spent on a Broadway stage.

"Right now, I'm just living in the moment," he said. "I think, when it's all said and done, I can look back and say, 'Wow, I've done a lot.' Right now, this is only the first of many opportunities for me.