Alan Menken

Infobox actor
name = Alan Menken
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imagesize = 200px
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birthname =
instruments = Piano, Guitar, Violin, Voice
occupation = Composer, Singer-songwriter, Musician
birthdate = Birth date and age|1949|7|22|mf=y
birthplace = New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive = 1980-Present
spouse = Janis Menken (1972-Present)
partner = Norman and Judy Menken
children = Anna, Nora
parents =
residence = Westchester, New York, U.S.
influences =
influenced =
website =
notable role =
academyawards = Best Original Score
1989 "The Little Mermaid"
1991 "Beauty and the Beast"
1992 "Aladdin"
1995 "Pocahontas"
Best Original Song
1989 "The Little Mermaid"
"Under the Sea"
1991 "Beauty and the Beast"
"Beauty and the Beast"
1992 "Aladdin"
"A Whole New World"
1995 "Pocahontas"
"Colors of the Wind"
emmyawards =
tonyawards =
goldenglobeawards = Best Original Score
1989 "The Little Mermaid"
1991 "Beauty and the Beast"
1992 "Aladdin"
Best Original Song
1989 "The Little Mermaid"
"Under the Sea"
1991 "Beauty and the Beast"
"Beauty and the Beast"
1992 "Aladdin"
"A Whole New World"
1995 "Pocahontas"
"Colors of the Wind"
baftaawards =
sagawards =
cesarawards =
goyaawards =
afiawards =
filmfareawards=
olivierawards =
geminiawards =
grammyawards = Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
1993 "Beauty and the Beast"
1994 "Aladdin"
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
1991 "The Little Mermaid"
"Under the Sea"
1993 "Beauty and the Beast"
"Beauty and the Beast"
1994 "Aladdin"
"A Whole New World"
1996 "Pocahontas"
"Colors of the Wind"

Alan Menken (born July 22 1949 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American Broadway and an eight-time Academy Award winning composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with several renowned lyricists including Howard Ashman (1950-1991), Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz.

Biography

Alan Menken, who was born into a Jewish family, developed an interest in music at an early age, studying piano and violin. He attended New York University as a pre-med student, but later changed his focus to music. After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, through which he met Howard Ashman. 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 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 on several Disney animated features, including "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules", and "Home on the Range". Menken has received eight Academy Awards and has one of the highest Oscar to film ratios of anyone in the industry. He recently produced all the music for the Disney movie, "Enchanted" (2007)

Menken's "Sister Act the Musical" was produced in 2006. A musical version of "The Little Mermaid" opened on Broadway in January 2008. Menken and his wife, Janis, a former ballet dancer, reside in upstate New York with their two children, Anna and Nora.

Menken was in his agent's (Richard Kraft) film Finding Kraftland.

Selected works

* "Little Shop of Horrors" (1982 Off-Broadway musical, 1986 film and 2003 Broadway Revival)
* "The Little Mermaid" (1989 film and 2008 Broadway musical)
* "Rocky V" (the song "The Measure of a Man") (1990)
* "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" (the song "Wonderful Ways to Say No") (1990)
* "Beauty and the Beast" (1991 film and 1994 Broadway musical)
* "Newsies" (1992)
* "Weird Romance" (1992 Off-Broadway Musical and 2007 revival)
* "Aladdin" (1992 and )
* "A Christmas Carol" (1994 Broadway musical and 2004 TV movie)
* "Pocahontas" (1995)
* "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996 and 1999 German musical)
* "Hercules" (1997)
* "King David" (1997)
* "Home on the Range" (2004)
* "The Shaggy Dog" (2006)
* "Sister Act the Musical" (2006)
* "Enchanted" (2007)

Upcoming Projects

*"The Snow Queen" set to debut at Tokyo DisneySea with Amon Miyamoto directing and John Weidman as the bookwriter and Glenn Slater the lyricist.
*"Sinbad's Storybook Voyage", overlay of Sinbad's Seven Voyages at Tokyo DisneySea featuring an original song, "Compass of your Heart"
*"Leap of Faith", a work-in-progress Broadway musical, based on the film Leap of Faith (opening date unknown, workshop scheduled for May 2008) [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117287.html playbill article, April 30, 2008]
*Disney has also announced that "Der Gloeckner Von Notre Dame", the Berlin stage musical adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be coming to Broadway stage in the next couple years. Although the extended music and new songs, as well as lyrics by Stephen Schwartz were completed for the 1999 premiere in Germany, the show is being fine tuned for American audiences.

Awards

Academy Award Nominations and Wins

* 1986: Nominated, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", from "Little Shop of Horrors"
* 1989
** Won, Original Score - "The Little Mermaid"
** Won, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Under the Sea", from "The Little Mermaid"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Kiss the Girl", from "The Little Mermaid"
* 1991
** Won, Original Score - "Beauty and the Beast"
** Won, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Beauty and the Beast", from "Beauty and the Beast"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Belle", from "Beauty and the Beast"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Be Our Guest", from "Beauty and the Beast"
* 1992
** Won, Original Score - "Aladdin"
** Won, Original Song (with Tim Rice) - "A Whole New World", from "Aladdin"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Howard Ashman) - "Friend Like Me", from "Aladdin"
* 1995
** Won, Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "Colors of the Wind", from "Pocahontas"
** Won, Original Musical or Comedy Score (with Stephen Schwartz) - "Pocahontas"
* 1996: Nominated, Original Musical or Comedy Score (with Stephen Schwartz) - "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
* 1997: Nominated, Original Song (with David Zippel) - "Go the Distance", from "Hercules"
* 2007
** Nominated, Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "Happy Working Song", from "Enchanted"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "So Close", from "Enchanted"
** Nominated, Original Song (with Stephen Schwartz) - "That's How You Know", from "Enchanted"

Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards

*1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - "Little Shop of Horrors" [nominee]
*1994 Tony Award for Best Original Score - "Beauty and the Beast" [nominee]
*1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - "Beauty and the Beast" [nominee]
*2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score - "The Little Mermaid" [nominee]

Notes

* [http://disney.go.com/DisneyRecords/Biographies/Menken_Bio.html Disney Biography of Menken]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9112996 Menken, Alan.] Britannica Book of the Year, 1997. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved September 6, 2007.

External links

* [http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0063.html MusicalTalk interview] with Alan Menken
*
* [http://www.soundtrack.net/composers/database/?id=294 SoundtrackNet entry for Alan Menken]
* [http://www.alanmenken.info The Whole New World of Alan Menken]