Alan Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.
Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, The Last Castle, Home on the Range, Enchanted, and Tangled. Menken has collaborated on several occasions with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Glenn Slater, and Stephen Schwartz. Having won a total of eight Oscars, he has won more Oscars than any other living individual. He has been Oscar-nominated a total of nineteen times.
Life and career
Menken was born in Manhattan into a Jewish family, the son of Judith and Norman Menken, a dentist. He developed an interest in music at an early age, studying piano and violin. He went to New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York. He attended college as a pre-med student, but later changed his focus to music at NYU Steinhardt. After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. He performed frequently in local clubs and worked as a composer of jingles and songs and as an accompanist.
In the late 1970s, Menken wrote several shows that were successfully showcased, but were not produced. Menken's first major professional work was with Ashman for the Off-Broadway 1979 WPA Theatre production of the play God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, an adaptation of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. This was well received, but three years later, he achieved greater success with the 1982 Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, again with Ashman, for which he earned a Drama Desk Award nomination. Little Shop was adapted for a successful motion picture and later received a Broadway run.
In 1983, Menken received the BMI Career Achievement Award for his body of work for musical theater, including Little Shop of Horrors, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Real Life Funnies, Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy (produced in workshop as Battle of the Giants), Patch, Patch, Patch, and contributions to numerous revues including Personals and Diamonds. In 1987, a musical adaptation of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, with lyrics by David Spencer, was produced in Philadelphia. In 1992, the WPA Theatre produced Menken's Weird Romance, also with lyrics also by Spencer. Menken's 1994 musical based on the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by Mike Ockrent, debuted at Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theater. The show proved successful and is becoming an annual New York holiday event. Menken received both Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for the music to the stage musical version of Beauty and the Beast which opened on Broadway in 1994.
Menken is best known, however, for his work over the past two decades with Walt Disney Pictures scoring numerous films, including Disney animated classics The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules and Home on the Range, and most recently, Disney's 2010 animated film Tangled. He also wrote music for the Disney live-action films Newsies (1992) and Enchanted (2007). Menken has received dual Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Song on four of these projects. With eight Academy Award wins (four each for Best Original Score and Best Original Song), only composer Alfred Newman (nine wins) and Walt Disney (twenty two wins) have received more Oscars than Menken. He is tied in third place with late costume designer Edith Head. He currently holds the record for the most wins for a living person. He was named a Disney Legend in 2001.
In 1998, Menken composed a song for Touchstone's Armageddon: "Mister Big Time", performed by Jon Bon Jovi.
A musical version of The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway in January 2008. Menken's Sister Act the Musical was produced in London, 2009, and opened on Broadway in Spring 2011. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Score for his work.
Menken received the 2,422nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 10, 2010.
He is working on stage adaptations of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Newsies and Aladdin.
In December 2010, he was a guest on NPR's new quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.
Personal
Menken and his wife, Janis, a former ballet dancer, reside in the suburbs of New York City with their two children, Anna and Nora.
Filmography
Feature
Score and songs
- Little Shop of Horrors 1986 (Oscar nominee)
- The Little Mermaid 1989 (Oscar winner)
- Beauty and the Beast 1991 (Oscar winner)
- Newsies 1992
- Aladdin 1992 (Oscar winner)
- Life with Mikey 1993
- Pocahontas 1995 (Oscar winner)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996 (Oscar nominee)
- Hercules 1997 (Oscar nominee)
- Home on the Range 2004
- The Shaggy Dog 2006
- Enchanted 2007 (Oscar nominee)
- Tangled 2010 (Oscar nominee)
- Mirror Mirror (film) 2012
Songs only
- Rocky V (the song "The Measure of a Man", score by Bill Conti) 1990
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (the song "My Christmas Tree") 1992
- Crimson Tide (the song "Eternal Father, Strong to Save", performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, score by Hans Zimmer) 1995
- Armageddon (composer, the song "Mister Big Time", performed by Jon Bon Jovi, score by Trevor Rabin and Harry Gregson-Williams) 1998
- Pearl Harbor (composer, the song "There You'll Be", performed by Faith Hill, score by Hans Zimmer) 2001
- Captain America: The First Avenger (the song "Star Spangled Man", score by Alan Silvestri) 2011
Television
- Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (supervising composer, the song "Wonderful Ways to Say No") 1990
- A Christmas Carol 2004
Musicals
- Little Shop of Horrors 1982 Off Broadway and 2003 Broadway revival
- Weird Romance 1992 Off Broadway and 2007 revival
- Beauty and the Beast 1994 Broadway (Tony nominee)
- A Christmas Carol 1995 Perennial holiday run (10 years) The Theatre at Madison Square Garden
- King David 1997
- Der Glöckner von Notre Dame 1999 German musical
- The Little Mermaid 2008 Broadway (Tony nominee)
- Sister Act the Musical 2009 West End, 2011 Broadway (Tony nominee)
- Leap of Faith 2010 (Los Angeles)
Other
- Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular - Theatrical show at Disney California Adventure
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - Attraction at Disney California Adventure
- Newsies - Stage Musical Papermill Playhouse
- "Howling at the Moon", written with Sir Tim Rice, was sung by Craig Hinds on the Jock of the Bushveld (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), released 29 July 2011. It was also sung by Donna Burke on the Tyler Foundation's charity album, Shine On! Songs Volume One (2011).
Upcoming projects
- Leap of Faith, a work-in-progress musical, based on the film Leap of Faith. A workshop was held in May 2008. The Center Theatre Group presented the musical at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, in early September 2010, with Rob Ashford as director/choreographer.
- Disney has announced that Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame, the Berlin stage musical adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be coming to the Broadway stage in the next couple of years. Although the extended music and new songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz were completed for the 1999 premiere in Germany, the show is being fine tuned for American audiences, with a 2012 premiere anticipated.
- A Broadway musical version of Disney's Aladdin, with a book by Chad Beguelin. The songs will be the ones featured in the movie, along with cut songs written by both Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and the song that Menken wrote by himself for the theatrical adaption at California Adventure (To Be Free).Casey Nicholaw is expected to direct and choreograph the stage musical Aladdin which is expected to run at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle, Washington, July 7–31, 2011."
- Menken along with Weird Romance collaborator David Spencer wrote the musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which is currently in Canada.
Awards
Academy Award nominations and wins
- 1987
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", from Little Shop of Horrors
- 1990
- Won, Best Original Score - The Little Mermaid
- Won, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Under the Sea", from The Little Mermaid
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Kiss the Girl", from The Little Mermaid
- 1992
- Won, Best Original Score - Beauty and the Beast
- Won, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - Beauty and the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Belle", from Beauty and the Beast
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Be Our Guest", from Beauty and the Beast
- 1993
- Won, Best Original Score - Aladdin
- Won, Best Original Song (with Tim Rice) - "A Whole New World", from Aladdin
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Friend Like Me", from Aladdin
- 1996
- Won, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "Colors of the Wind", from Pocahontas
- Won, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (with Stephen Schwartz) - Pocahontas
- 1997
- Nominated, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (with Stephen Schwartz) - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- 1998
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with David Zippel) - "Go the Distance", from Hercules
- 2008
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "Happy Working Song", from Enchanted
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "So Close", from Enchanted
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "That's How You Know", from Enchanted
- 2011
- Nominated, Best Original Song- (with Glenn Slater) - I See The Light from Tangled
Golden Globe nominations and wins
- 1990
- Won', Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid'
- Won', Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - Motion Picture from - "Under the Sea" The Little Mermaid'
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - Motion Picture - "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid''
- 1992
- Won, Best Original Score for Beauty and the Beast
- Won, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) for Beauty and the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) for Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast
- 1993
- Won, Best Original Score for Aladdin
- Won, Best Original Song (with Tim Rice) - "A Whole New World", from Aladdin
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) for Friend Like Me, from Aladdin
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Howard Ashman) for Prince Ali from Aladdin
- 1996
- Won, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) for "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas
- Nominated, Best Original Score for Pocahontas
- 1997
- Nominated, Best Original Score for The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- 1998
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with David Zippel) - Go the Distance from Hercules
- 2008
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - That's How You Know from Enchanted
- 2011
- Nominated, Best Original Song (with Glenn Slater) - I See The Light from Tangled
Tony Awards
- 1994 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Beauty and the Beast [nominee]
- 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score - The Little Mermaid [nominee]
- 2011 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Sister Act [nominee]
Drama Desk Awards
- 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Little Shop of Horrors [nominee]
- 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Beauty and the Beast [nominee]
- 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Sister Act [nominee]
Other awards
Further reading
External links
תגובות
Please log in / register, to leave a comment