Fred Berman and Ben Jeffrey met, as most meerkat-and-warthog pairings do, not at the zoo, not in the savanna, but in a rehearsal room for the Broadway production of The Lion King.
Berman, an established New York actor and voiceover artist, had been cast as Timon; Jeffrey, meanwhile, landed Pumbaa pretty much fresh off the bus — The Lion King was basically his first-ever professional audition. Both were thrilled, not only for the rare promise of job security, but the fact that the creative team behind Disney’s flagship Broadway musical wanted them to build these characters anew, without following in the well-trod paw-prints of their predecessors.
Berman, operating with the mindset of the itinerant actor, figured he’d do a year at the Minskoff, maybe two. That was back in 2010. He and Jeffrey are still screaming at buzzards 15 years later — and still having the time of their life...READ MORE