Alan Menken 479161 222538440 2008-06-29T21:53:11Z JonBroxton 1373508 {{Infobox actor | name = Alan Menken | bgcolour = | image = AlanMenkenSmall.JPG | imagesize = 200px | caption = | 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]], [[United States|U.S.]] {{flagicon|USA}} | deathdate = | deathplace = | othername = | yearsactive = 1980-Present | spouse = Janis Menken (1972-Present) | partner = Norman and Judy Menken | children = Anna, Nora | parents = | residence = [[Westchester, New York]], [[United States|U.S.]] | influences = | influenced = | website = | notable role = | academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Original Music Score|Best Original Score]]'''<br>1989 ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''<br>1991 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br>1992 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br>1995 ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]''<br>'''[[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]'''<br>1989 ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''<br><small>''"[[Under the Sea]]"''</small><br>1991 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br><small>''"[[Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|Beauty and the Beast]]"''</small><br>1992 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br><small>''"[[A Whole New World]]"''</small><br>1995 ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]''<br><small>''"[[Colors of the Wind]]"''</small> | emmyawards = | tonyawards = | goldenglobeawards = '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]'''<br>1989 ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''<br>1991 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br>1992 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br>'''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]'''<br>1989 ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''<br><small>''"[[Under the Sea]]"''</small><br>1991 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br><small>''"[[Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|Beauty and the Beast]]"''</small><br>1992 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br><small>''"[[A Whole New World]]"''</small><br>1995 ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]''<br><small>''"[[Colors of the Wind]]"''</small> | baftaawards = | sagawards = | cesarawards = | goyaawards = | afiawards = | filmfareawards= | olivierawards = | geminiawards = | grammyawards = '''[[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media|Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media]]'''<br>1993 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br>1994 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br>'''[[Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media|Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media]]'''<br>1991 ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]''<br><small>''"[[Under the Sea]]"''</small><br>1993 ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''<br><small>''"[[Beauty and the Beast (Disney song)|Beauty and the Beast]]"''</small><br>1994 ''[[Aladdin (film)|Aladdin]]''<br><small>''"[[A Whole New World]]"''</small><br>1996 ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]''<br><small>''"[[Colors of the Wind]]"''</small> }} '''Alan Menken''' (born [[July 22]] [[1949]] in [[New Rochelle]], [[New York]]) is a [[Jewish]] [[United States|American]] [[Broadway theatre|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 (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]]. ==Biography== Alan Menken 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 theater|musical]] ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (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 theatre|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 [[revue]]s 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 (musical)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' which opened on Broadway in 1994. Menken is best known, however, for his work on several [[Walt Disney Feature Animation|Disney animated features]], including ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[Aladdin (1992 film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', and ''[[Home on the Range (film)|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 film)|Enchanted]]'' (2007) Menken's ''[[Sister Act the Musical]]'' was produced in 2006. A musical version of ''[[The Little Mermaid (musical)|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, [[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|1986 film]] and 2003 Broadway Revival) * ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' (1989 film and [[The Little Mermaid (musical)|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)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1991 film and [[Beauty and the Beast (theatrical production)|1994 Broadway musical]]) * ''[[Newsies]]'' (1992) * ''Weird Romance'' (1992 Off-Broadway Musical and 2007 revival) * ''[[Aladdin (1992 film)|Aladdin]]'' (1992 and [[Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular|2003 musical]]) * ''[[A Christmas Carol (2004 film)|A Christmas Carol]]'' (1994 Broadway musical and [[A Christmas Carol (2004 film)|2004 TV movie]]) * ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' (1995) * ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1996 and [[Hunchback of Notre Dame (musical)|1999 German musical]]) * ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'' (1997) * ''[[King David (musical)|King David]]'' (1997) * ''[[Home on the Range (film)|Home on the Range]]'' (2004) * ''[[The Shaggy Dog (2006 film)|The Shaggy Dog]]'' (2006) * ''[[Sister Act the Musical]]'' (2006) * ''[[Enchanted (2007 film)|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 (musical)|Leap of Faith]]'', a work-in-progress Broadway musical, based on the film [[Leap of Faith (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] ==Awards== === Academy Award Nominations and Wins === * 1986: Nominated, Original Song (with [[Howard Ashman]]) - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", from ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'' * 1989 ** '''Won''', Original Score - ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|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 (1991 film)|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 (1992 film)|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 (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]]) - "[[Colors of the Wind]]", from ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'' ** '''Won''', Original Musical or Comedy Score (with [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]]) - ''Pocahontas'' * 1996: Nominated, Original Musical or Comedy Score (with [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]]) - ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' * 1997: Nominated, Original Song (with [[David Zippel]]) - "Go the Distance", from ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'' * 2007 ** Nominated, Original Song (with [[Stephen Schwartz]]) - "Happy Working Song", from ''[[Enchanted (film)|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 (musical)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'' [nominee] *1994 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''[[Beauty and the Beast (musical)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' [nominee] *1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - ''[[Beauty and the Beast (musical)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' [nominee] *2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''[[The Little Mermaid (musical)|The Little Mermaid]]'' [nominee] ==References== *[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 * {{imdb name|id=0579678|name=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] {{DEFAULTSORT:Menken, Alan}} [[Category:American musical theatre composers]] [[Category:American film score composers]] [[Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters]] [[Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners]] [[Category:1949 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Jewish American musicians]] [[Category:Rocky music]] [[Category:Grammy Award winners]] [[ca:Alan Menken]] [[cy:Alan Menken]] [[de:Alan Menken]] [[es:Alan Menken]] [[fr:Alan Menken]] [[it:Alan Menken]] [[he:אלן מנקן]] [[nl:Alan Menken]] [[ja:アラン・メンケン]] [[pt:Alan Menken]] [[ru:Менкен, Алан]] [[fi:Alan Menken]] [[sv:Alan Menken]] [[zh:亚伦·孟肯]]