10:30 AM: Today, I wake up pretty late...I MAY have been out rather late...
Ben Jeffrey
I'm just in time to say goodbye to my wife as she takes off for her job. She's great. She's pretty. I'm going to keep her. But not right now, because of the job thing.
Ben Jeffrey
11:00 AM: Eventually, I force myself out of my funk to pump some iron. It's a deep burn.
Ben Jeffrey
After that, it's time to hit the road, so I beautify myself. Which includes brushing my teeth.
Ben Jeffrey
This is Roberto, my bagel guy. I love him. He's always friendly and cool, and he was willing to take a picture with me...which adds to his coolness.
Ben Jeffrey
12:15 PM: Headin' to the subway!
Ben Jeffrey
1:00 PM: This is Nate, the doorman. He and I generally greet one another with a fist bump, cuz' we're tight like that.
Ben Jeffrey
Lisa Nicole and I are VERY conscientious about signing in. VERY conscientious.
Ben Jeffrey
I poke my head into stage management, but they don't want to pay attention to me.
Ben Jeffrey
And there's the man of the hour, Fred Berman, alias Timon. He's ALWAYS so happy to see me...
Ben Jeffrey
We're totally badass, right?
Ben Jeffrey
Then, it's coffee time. Gotta amp up, you know?
Ben Jeffrey
1:30 PM: After I grab coffee, we are graced with the presence of the lovely and talented Chaunteé Schuler, who plays our adult Nala. We love it when she comes by our dressing room, because she ups the class level by like 300%.
Ben Jeffrey
I have a very sophisticated and involved warm up routine. Totally workin' up a sweat.
Ben Jeffrey
Because I'm kind of a make-up idiot, I put on the base and it's finished by a professional.
Ben Jeffrey
But just before Fred heads upstairs to get his makeup completed, we get a surprise visit from Scar and Zazu (Gareth Saxe and John E. Brady)!
Ben Jeffrey
Shortly after Fred leaves, Simba (Dashaun Young) stops by as well. At this point you're probably wondering if it's difficult to be this popular. Well, yes. Yes, it is....
Ben Jeffrey
2:30 PM: And there I stand, a completed Pumbaa.
Ben Jeffrey
All Pumbaa'd up and ready to go!
Ben Jeffrey
I love it when it's Fred's birthday, because after our nap, I get to eat his cupcakes.
Ben Jeffrey
With the 1st show down, we get ourselves out of makeup and enjoy a well earned nap. And maybe, just maybe, we snuggle a little...but not a lot.
Ben Jeffrey
Our pre-show ritual would not be complete without our Mr. T talker.
Ben Jeffrey
We stop by and see the always fabulous Michelle Brugal, Nicole Adell Johnson (front) and Natalie Turner.
Ben Jeffrey
I look even better when I'm taking my makeup off...
Ben Jeffrey
There's a pretty impressive crowd waiting for autographs! I wonder how long it will be before they find out I'm actually pretty boring...
Ben Jeffrey
And goodnight!
Ben Jeffrey
