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Alan Menken

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist

Alan Irwin Menken<ref name="name" /> (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer and conductor. Over his career he has received numerous accolades including winning eight Academy Awards, a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. He is one of 21 recipients to have won the competitive EGOT (Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony).<ref name="EGOT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He is best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's contributions to The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) won him two Academy Awards for each film. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), Disenchanted (2022), and Spellbound (2024), among others.

He is also known for his work in musical theater for Broadway winning the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Newsies (2012). He was Tony-nominated for Beauty and the Beast (1993), The Little Mermaid (2008), Sister Act (2009), and Aladdin (2014). His other stage hits include Little Shop of Horrors (1982), A Christmas Carol (1994), Leap of Faith (2012), and A Bronx Tale (2016).

Menken has collaborated with lyricists such as Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz, David Zippel, Glenn Slater, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Early life and educationEdit

Alan Irwin Menken was born on July 22, 1949, at French Hospital in Manhattan, to Judith and Norman Menken. His father was a boogie-woogie piano-playing dentist, and his mother was an actress, dancer and playwright.<ref name=timeline>"Timeline. Official Site" Template:Webarchive, Alanmenken.com, accessed February 19, 2016</ref> His family was Jewish.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Menken developed an interest in music at an early age, taking piano and violin lessons. He began to compose at an early age.<ref>"Alan Menken: Year Inducted 2001" Template:Webarchive, Disney Legends, D23.com, accessed February 19, 2016</ref> At age nine, at the New York Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest, his original composition "Bouree" was rated Superior and Excellent by the judges.

Menken noted that "Before college, I was writing songs to further my dream of being the next Bob Dylan. A lot of guitar songs – I was composing on piano before that."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He attended New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York, and graduated in 1967. Menken remembers: "I'd make up my own Bach fugues and Beethoven sonatas because I was bored with the piano and I didn't want to practice; so I'd go off on tangents".<ref name=klein>Template:Cite news</ref> He then enrolled at New York University.<ref name=bionyt>Template:Cite news</ref> Menken graduated in 1972 from University College of Arts and Science at the Heights campus, which is now the College of Arts and Science.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.<ref name=bmi>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Menken recalled: "First, I was pre-med. I thought I'd be a dentist like my dad. Finally, I got a degree in music, but I didn't care about musicology. It wasn't until I joined BMI Workshop ... under Lehman Engel, and walked into a room with other composers that I knew this was it."<ref name=klein />

CareerEdit

1974–1987: Early career and breakthroughEdit

After graduating, Menken's plan was to become either a rock star or a recording artist. His interest in writing musicals increased when he joined the Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Musical Theatre Workshop and was mentored by Lehman Engel.<ref name=bmi /> From 1974 to 1978, he showcased various BMI workshop works, such as Midnight, Apartment House (lyric by Muriel Robinson), Conversations with Pierre,<ref name=bmi /> Harry the Rat and Messiah on Mott Street (lyrics by David Spencer).Template:Citation needed According to Menken, during this period, he "worked as a ballet and modern dance accompanist, a musical director for club acts, a jingle writer, arranger, a songwriter for Sesame Street and a vocal coach". He performed his material at clubs like The Ballroom, Reno Sweeny and Tramps.<ref>"Biography, 1972-1980" Template:Webarchive, Alanmenken.com, accessed February 19, 2016</ref>

In 1976, John Wilson reported for The New York Times that members of Engel's BMI Workshop began performing as part of the "Broadway at the Ballroom" series: "The opening workshop program ... featured Maury Yeston and Alan Menken, both playing their piano accompaniment and singing songs they have written for potential musicals."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wilson reviewed a performance at the Ballroom in 1977 where Menken accompanied a singer: "In the current cabaret world, a piano accompanist is no longer expected to merely play piano for a singer. More and more, pianists can be heard joining in vocally, harmonizing with the singer, creating a background of shouts and exclamations or even doing brief passages of solo singing."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Menken contributed material to revues like New York's Back in Town, Big Apple Country, The Present Tense (1977),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Real Life Funnies (Off-Broadway, 1981),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Diamonds (Off-Broadway, 1984), and Personals (Off-Off-Broadway, 1985).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His revue Patch, Patch, Patch ran at the West Bank Cafe in New York City in 1979 and featured Chip Zien. The New York Times reviewer Mel Gussow wrote: "The title song ... refers to a life's passage. According to Alan Menken ... after age 30 it is a downhill plunge."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Menken wrote several shows that were not produced, including Atina, Evil Queen of the Galaxy (1980), with lyrics by Steve Brown. He also wrote The Thorn with lyrics by Brown, which was commissioned by Divine in 1980. This was a parody of the film The Rose, but they could not raise the money to have it produced.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He collaborated with Howard Ashman in an uncompleted musical called Babe (Template:Circa),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=suskin>Template:Cite book</ref> with Tom Eyen in Kicks: The Showgirl Musical (1984),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and with David Rogers in The Dream in Royal Street (Template:Circa), which was an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream.<ref name=suskin /> Menken contributed music for the film The Line (1980), directed by Robert J. Siegel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Little Shop of Horrors (16025253336).jpg
Menken's achieved success with Ashman with Little Shop of Horrors (1982)

Menken finally achieved success as a composer when playwright Howard Ashman chose him and Engel to write the music for his musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The musical opened in 1979 at the WPA Theater<ref name=mel>Gussow, Mel. "Stage: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: In Vonnegut Land", The New York Times, May 21, 1979, p. C14</ref> to excellent reviews<ref name=mel /> and modest box office. It transferred after several months to the Off-Broadway Entermedia Theater, where it ran for an additional six weeks.<ref>Corry, John. "Broadway: The Phoenix's place in the city's theatrical life", The New York Times, August 17, 1979, p. C2</ref><ref>Jones, Kenneth. "Menken & Ashman's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater Gets NYC Concert March 7" Template:Webarchive, Playbill, March 6, 2003, accessed February 18, 2016</ref><ref>"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater Listing" Template:Webarchive, Lortel.org, accessed February 18, 2016</ref><ref>Vonnegut, Kurt. "Script" Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Samuel French, Inc., 1980, Template:ISBN, pp. 3-4</ref> Menken and Ashman wrote their next musical, Little Shop of Horrors, for a cast of only 9 performers, including a puppeteer. This musical is based on the 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. It opened at WPA Theater in 1982 to warm reviews. It moved to the Off Broadway Orpheum Theatre in the East Village, Manhattan, where it ran for five years. The musical set the box-office record for highest grossing Off-Broadway show of all time. It toured around the world, won theater awards and was adapted as a 1986 musical film starring Rick Moranis that earned Menken and Ashman their first Oscar nomination for the song "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space".<ref>"Menken Biography" Template:Webarchive, Songwritershalloffame.org, accessed February 22, 2016</ref> For his body of work in musical theatre, he was awarded the BMI Career Achievement Award in 1983.<ref name=timeline />

In 1987, Menken and lyricist David Spencer's adaptation The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, based on the 1959 novel of the same name, was produced in Philadelphia. After substantial re-writes, it was produced in 2015 in Montreal.<ref name=robert /><ref name=bww1 /> In 1992, the WPA Theatre produced Menken's Weird Romance, also with lyrics by Spencer.<ref name=weird /> Menken's musical based on the Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by Mike Ockrent, debuted at Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theater in 1994.<ref>Richards, David. "Theater Review. A Christmas Carol; A Famous Miser, Tiny Tim and a Tap-Dancing Chorus" Template:Webarchive, The New York Times, December 2, 1994, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> The show proved successful and was an annual New York holiday event.<ref>"Show History" Template:Webarchive, MTIshows.com, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> From 1989 to 1990, Menken and Howard Ashman wrote songs for the popular puppet TV show Sesame Street.<ref name="SesameStreet">Street Gang. Michael Davis. New York, Penguin Group. 2008. p. 269</ref> In 2008, Menken said that his work on Sesame Street was "pathetic money, but it still had some prestige to it. It was on the air and [he] was getting some royalties".<ref name="SesameStreet" /> The duo also wrote a song titled "Wonderful Ways to Say No" for the 1990 animated anti-drug special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

1989–2007: Disney Renaissance and Broadway workEdit

File:Tim Rice, 1 December 2020.jpg
During this time Menken worked with lyricist Tim Rice

On the strength of the success of Little Shop of Horrors, Menken and Ashman were hired by Walt Disney Studios to write the music for The Little Mermaid (1989). The challenge was to create an animated musical film of this Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale that could sit alongside the Disney films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella. The Little Mermaid opened to critical and commercial success and signaled a new Disney era called the Disney Renaissance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The film gave them their first Academy Award win: Best Song for the song "Under the Sea". Menken also won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Score.<ref name=bionyt /><ref name=oscar>"Menken Academy Awards" Template:Webarchive, Awardsdatabase.oscars.org, accessed February 19, 2016</ref> Critic Roger Ebert declared in his review, [the film] contains some of the best Disney music since the glory days."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Menken and Ashman's Beauty and the Beast garnered them three 1991 Academy Award nominations for Best Song, winning for its title song.<ref name=oscar /> Menken won another Academy Award for Best Score. The two were working on Aladdin at the time of Ashman's death in 1991. Ashman wrote only three songs in the film and Menken collaborated with Tim Rice, who was then working on The Lion King, to write the rest of the songs for the film. The film won an Academy Award in 1992 for Best Song, "A Whole New World".<ref name=oscar /> Menken also won the Oscar for Best Score. Menken debuted on Broadway with a musical theater adaptation of Beauty and the Beast that opened in 1994 and ran for 13 years before closing in 2007. In 1997, he collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on a musical, King David, based on the biblical character, which was performed in a concert version on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Little Shop of Horrors played on Broadway from 2003 to 2004.<ref name=IBDb>"Alan Menken" Template:Webarchive, Internet Broadway Database, accessed February 17, 2016</ref>

Menken's live-action musical film Newsies, with lyrics by Jack Feldman, was released in 1992. Three more animated musical films followed. Menken collaborated with Stephen Schwartz for Pocahontas, for which the two won two Academy Awards: Best Song and Best Musical or Comedy Score. In 1996, the same musical team created the songs, and Menken, the score, for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 1997, Menken reunited with his early collaborator, David Zippel, for his last film in the era, Hercules.<ref>Hercules, TCM.com, accessed February 19, 2016</ref> Menken also wrote the music for the Michael J. Fox vehicle Life with Mikey (1993),<ref>Rainer, Peter. "A Fox Steals the Show in Too-Cute Life", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1993, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> the holiday film Noel (2004)<ref>Demonte, Adena. Noel Template:Webarchive, Film Monthly, December 1, 2004, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> and Mirror Mirror (2012).<ref>Phares, Heather. "Alan Menken: Mirror Mirror (Soundtrack)" Template:Webarchive, AllMusic, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> His other film scores for Disney have included Home on the Range (2004), the Tim Allen remake of The Shaggy Dog (2006), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010).

2008–2016: Return to BroadwayEdit

He next created the stage version of The Little Mermaid, which played on Broadway from 2008 to 2009 and for which he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Score.<ref name=IBDb /> Menken's stage adaptation of Sister Act debuted in London in 2009, and opened on Broadway in 2011. He was nominated for another Tony Award for Best Score.<ref>"2011 Tony Nominations Announced!" Template:Webarchive BroadwayWorld.com, May 3, 2011</ref> Menken received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.<ref>Gans, Andrew. "Alan Menken to Be Honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame" Template:Webarchive, Playbill, November 8, 2010</ref> In December 2010, he was a guest on the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.<ref>"Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! for December 18, 2010" Template:Webarchive, NPR.org, accessed February 18, 2016</ref> In 2012, Menken won a Tony Award for Best Score for his musical adaptation of Newsies, which ran until 2014. He also wrote the music for Leap of Faith, which had a brief run on Broadway in 2012. His stage adaptation of Aladdin opened on Broadway in 2014, earning him another Tony nomination for Best Score.<ref name=IBDb /> In 2013, he was a guest at the annual Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, and was honored with the Junior Theater Festival Award.<ref>Hetrick, Adam. "2013 Junior Theater Festival to Feature Newsies Cast, Alan Menken, Thomas Schumacher, Jeff Calhoun and More" Template:Webarchive, Playbill, January 7, 2013</ref> He gave a concert there, including music that was cut from various productions, while talking about his creative process.Template:Citation needed

Menken's stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame played at La Jolla Playhouse, California, in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2015, Menken co-composed the score for the musical television series Galavant alongside Christopher Lennertz, reuniting him with Tangled screenwriter Dan Fogelman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Menken also co-wrote songs for the series alongside Glenn Slater.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The series lasted two seasons, first airing on January 4, 2015, and last airing on January 31, 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was revived in Montreal in 2015,<ref name=robert>Viagas, Robert. "Alan Menken-David Spencer Musical Duddy Kravitz Will Get Another Chance in Montreal" Template:Webarchive, Playbill, March 28, 2014</ref><ref name=bww1>"Cast Set for World Premiere of Alan Menken Musical Duddy Kravitz in Montreal" Template:Webarchive, BroadwayWorld.com, March 10, 2015</ref> and A Bronx Tale: The Musical played at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2016.<ref>The Verdict: Critics Review 'Bronx Tale: The Musical'" Template:Webarchive, Playbill, February 17, 2016</ref> Menken is currently working on stage musical adaptations of Night at the Museum<ref name="YAA" /> and Animal Farm.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2017–present: Live-Action Disney filmsEdit

Menken wrote songs for a prospective prequel/spin-off series to 2017's Beauty and the Beast titled Little Town, which would be centered on Gaston and LeFou.<ref name="YAA" /> The series would be released on Disney's streaming service, Disney+,<ref name="YAA" /><ref name="LittleTown">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Menken would also be an executive-producer on the series.<ref name="ExecProducer">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In February 2022, it was reported that the series would not go forward for now.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 2017, Disney released a live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, with the songs from the 1991 film and new material by Menken and Rice.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Menken collaborated with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on writing new songs for the 2019 live-action version of Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

As of 2019, Menken reunites with his Newsies creators Jack Feldman and Harvey Fierstein to develop a new musical called Greetings from Niagara Falls. A reading was held in January 2019; however, there is no word on future plans for the project at this time.<ref>"Shoshana Bean, Bonnie Milligan, Terrance Mann, Nancy Opel Lead Reading of Greetings From Niagara Falls From The Creative Team Of Newsies" Template:Webarchive broadwayworld.com, January 22, 2019</ref> In 2017, Menken and Slater returned to write songs for the animated series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, which is set after the events of Tangled.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The series ended in 2020, after three seasons. On July 26, 2020, Menken and Slater won the Daytime Emmy Award for Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for the song titled "Waiting in the Wings".<ref name="EGOT" /><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Menken again worked with Stephen Schwartz to write new songs for Disenchanted, the sequel to Enchanted,<ref name="sequel">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Menken also worked on new music for a live-action film adaptation of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, with longtime The Little Mermaid fan Lin-Manuel Miranda,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> whom Menken knew since the former's childhood, as Miranda went to the same school as Menken's niece.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Menken is also working alongside former Disney chief creative officer John Lasseter on a project at Skydance Animation.<ref name="YAA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> On May 20, 2020, the project was revealed to be Vicky Jenson's Spellbound.<ref name="Spellbound">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Menken will co-write songs for Spellbound alongside collaborated with lyricist Glenn Slater, with whom he worked on Home on the Range and Tangled.<ref name="Spellbound" /> Menken is also reportedly attached to a sequel to Aladdin.<ref name="Aladdin2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Menken was set to work with Schwartz to write new songs for a remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which Menken would score.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, in May 2023, Menken suggested that the development had been stalled due to the original movie's content and themes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

With eight Academy Awards, only composer Alfred Newman (nine wins), art director Cedric Gibbons (11 wins) and Walt Disney (22 wins) have received more Academy Awards than Menken. He is tied for fourth place with late costume designer Edith Head, and currently holds the record for the most wins for a living person.Template:Citation needed<ref>Disney Legends – Alan Menken Template:Webarchive, Disney Legends, D23.com, accessed February 19, 2016</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Menken was introduced to ballet dancer Janis Roswick while working with the Downtown Ballet Company. They have been married since November 1972 and live in North Salem, New York with their two daughters, Anna and Nora.<ref>"Westchester Fall Arts Preview: Theater" Template:Webarchive westchestermagazine.com, Retrieved October 2, 2014.</ref>Template:Failed verification

Artistry and receptionEdit

Menken described his signature style of songwriting as pop and rock music married with a "theatrical sensibility" derived from working with theatre composers Lehman Engel and Maury Yeston.<ref name=":5" /> Darryn King of The Sydney Morning Herald observed that Menken's first three Disney films alone demonstrated a wide range of musical genres and styles, namely sea shanties, German cabaret, French music hall, Mozart operetta, and "the Harlem grooves of Fats Waller and Cab Calloway".<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> Writing for the same publication, Debbie Cuthbertson identified romance, swelling strings, and humour as trademarks of Menken's songs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Menken said he prefers his compositions to be "hummable", and emphasized the importance of creating infectious melodies and rhythms that elicit desired emotions.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Menken described himself as a chameleon in terms of his composing process.<ref name=":4" /> When writing for Disney films in particular, he attempts to progress the story in a manner appropriate for each character and dramatic situation by gathering as much information as possible about the project before composing using a piano.<ref name=":0" /> His music his also created prior to the scripts and storyboards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Menken records his own demos using either a straight piano-vocal or piano-vocal-MIDI orchestral arrangement.<ref name=":4" /> He maintains that there is little value in writing music that does not elicit strong emotional responses from listeners.<ref name=":2" /> Apple Music said the composer's work is "Rich with the tones, colors, and textures that help viewers feel those big moments deep in their hearts".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although he rarely orchestrates or conducts his own work, he produces his film's soundtracks and remains in the control room during recording sessions.<ref name=":4" /> Menken has written with numerous lyricists throughout his career, his most famous collaboration remaining his songwriting partnership with Ashman, despite having worked together for a relatively short period of time.<ref name=":1" /> He initially wrote both music and lyrics and considers himself to be a strong lyricist, but decided to focus on composing upon meeting Ashman.<ref name=":5" /> He said he enjoys working with different lyricists because "they reflect different dimensions of my career".<ref name=":4" /> Lyricist and frequent collaborator Glenn Slater said Menken is arguably "the greatest melodist that we've had in the theatre and the film world for the past 30 years".<ref name=":2" />

Steve Hochman of Grammy.com said Menken "ranks among the top composers in film and theater", writing, "his music is part of the DNA of several generations of children and parents alike".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2024, Katcy Stephan of Variety said he "he remains one of the industry’s most sought-after songwriters".<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> Playbill's Logan Culwell-Block described Menken as "one of musical theatre’s most prolific composers—but what puts him in an elite class is not the quantity of his output, but its quality".<ref name=":3" /> According to Jeff Bond of The Hollywood Reporter, Menken is largely responsible for redefining the musical genre for a contemporary audience both in film and on stage, calling him "one of film music’s most versatile craftspeople".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Phil Sweetland of American Songwriter credited Menken's work for Disney with preserving musical theater after the genre had fallen into decline following the Golden Age of musicals, before its resurgence in the 1990s and early 2000s.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite news</ref> However, King observed that, despite his achievements, Menken's work is often overlooked and dismissed due to his affiliation with animation and children's entertainment.<ref name=":2" /> Menken himself has said he dislikes writing specifically for children, despite the target audience of much of his best-known projects, and credits Ashman with teaching him not to write directly to children.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> Menken explained that "I never write for kids ... I write for myself. I want to tell a story. I want to make those kids feel like I felt when I saw those earlier movies".<ref name=":4" /> His work has influenced a generation of songwriters across film and stage.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> Menken has noted his influence on songwriters and musicians such as Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elton John, and Sara Bareilles, although he maintains he does not have a specific protege.<ref name=":1" /> Although Lopez believes Menken can practically do anything, he possesses in particular "a God-given gift for a heartfelt emotional melody that will bring tears to your eyes".<ref name=":2" />

Menken is an EGOT winner, having won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony for his work.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

WorksEdit

FilmEdit

Year Title Director(s) Credited as Notes
Composer Songwriter Score producer Actor
1972 A Dancer's Life William Richert Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Documentary film
1986 Little Shop of Horrors Frank Oz Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed original and new songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Miles Goodman
1989 The Little Mermaid John Musker
Ron Clements 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No First score for an animated film
Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman
1990 Rocky V John G. Avildsen Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed song "Measure of a Man"; score by Bill Conti
1991 Beauty and the Beast Gary Trousdale
Kirk Wise 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman
1992 Newsies Kenny Ortega Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by J.A.C. Redford
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Chris Columbus Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed song "My Christmas Tree" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by John Williams
Aladdin John Musker
Ron Clements 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice
1993 Life with Mikey James Lapine Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed songs "Cold Enough to Snow" and "Life with Mikey Theme" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz & Jack Feldman
1995 Pocahontas Mike Gabriel
Eric Goldberg 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Gary Trousdale
Kirk Wise 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
1997 Hercules John Musker
Ron Clements 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by David Zippel
2004 Home on the Range Will Finn
John Sanford 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater
Noel Chazz Palminteri Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed song "Winter Light" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
2006 The Shaggy Dog Brian Robbins Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No
2007 Enchanted Kevin Lima Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
2010 Tangled Byron Howard
Nathan Greno 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater
2011 Captain America: The First Avenger Joe Johnston Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel; score by Alan Silvestri
Jock the Hero Dog Duncan MacNeillie Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed song "Howling at the moon" with lyrics by Tim Rice; score by Klaus Badelt and Ian Honeyman
2012 Mirror Mirror Tarsem Singh Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No
2016 Sausage Party Conrad Vernon
Greg Tiernan 		Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Co-composer with Christopher Lennertz;
Composed song "The Great Beyond" with lyrics by Glenn Slater, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ariel Shaffir and Kyle Hunter
Aria for a Cow Dan Lund Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Short film;
Composed song "Aria" with lyrics by Howard Ashman<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation 		CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2017 Beauty and the Beast Bill Condon Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Returned from the 1991 animated film
Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman;
Composed new songs with Tim Rice
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Rich Moore
Phil Johnston 		Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed songs "In This Place" and "A Place Called Slaughter Race" with lyrics by Phil Johnston & Tom MacDougall; score by Henry Jackman
Holmes & Watson Etan Cohen Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Composed song "Strange Sensation" with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Mark Mothersbaugh
Howard Don Hahn Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:Yes Documentary film
Disney+ original film
Limited theatrical run in 2018; official release in 2020
2019 Aladdin Guy Ritchie Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Returned to score from the 1992 animated film
Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice; Composed new songs with lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul
2022 Disenchanted Adam Shankman Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2023 The Little Mermaid Rob Marshall Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Returned to score from the 1989 animated film
Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed new songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
2024 Spellbound<ref name="Spellbound" /> Vicky Jenson Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Netflix original film
Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater

TelevisionEdit

Year Title Credited as Notes
Composer Songwriter Score producer Executive producer Actor
1989–1990 Sesame Street Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Composed "Grouchelot", "What is Friend?", "It's Gonna Get Dirty Again," "Snuffle Friends," "Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)," "Monster Up and Down", "Pond Full of Fish" and "Todos un Pueblo"
1989 Polly Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Television film
Composed song "By Your Side" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by Joel McNeely
1990 Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No TV special
Composed "Wonderful Ways to Say No" with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Richard Kosinski, Sam Winans, Paul Buckmaster, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Mann and Guy Moon
1992 Lincoln Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Template:No Television film
2004 A Christmas Carol Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Television film
Composed songs with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; score by Michael Kosarin
2013 The Neighbors Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Episode: "Sing Like a Larry Bird"
Composed "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway", "Giselle", "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway" (Reprise)
2015–2016 Galavant Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Composed complete soundtrack, score co-composed with Christopher Lennertz
2017 Tangled: Before Ever After Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Television film
Disney Channel original film
Composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Kevin Kliesch
2017–2020 Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

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Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Composed complete soundtrack, score composed by Kevin Kliesch
2019 The Little Mermaid Live! Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No TV special
Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed new songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater
2020 Central Park Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Episode: "Dog Spray Afternoon"
Composed song "Spoiler Alert" with lyrics by Glenn Slater
2021 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:No Episode: "The Star-Spangled Man"
Composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel for Captain America: The First Avenger; score by Henry Jackman
2022 Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No Template:No Template:Yes TV special
Composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; Composed "Evermore" with lyrics by Tim Rice

TheaterEdit

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  • Lyrics by David Zippel
    Based on the 1997 Disney film

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OtherEdit

Awards and nominationsEdit

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Alan Menken has received eight Academy Awards (and nineteen nominations), becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman (who has 9 Oscars), eleven Grammy Awards (and twenty-four nominations), one Tony Award (and four nominations), and one Daytime Emmy Award. He has also received seven Golden Globe Awards (and sixteen nominations), one Drama Desk Award (and five nominations), and three Outer Critics Circle Awards. Four of Menken's songs have won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award in a songwriting category (either Song of the Year or Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He was made a Disney Legend in 2002 and was the recipient of a Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award in 1998, a Freddie G. Award for Musical Excellence in 2013, and The Oscar Hammerstein Award in 2013, among others.

The American Film Institute included the title song from the film Beauty and the Beast, in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. Five other songs from his Disney films were nominated:

In 2006, AFI listed its 25 greatest movie musicals, with Beauty and the Beast (1991) ranked 22nd. It is the only animated musical film on the list. Four of his other film musicals were also nominated:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2019, Menken finally accepted the Razzie Award for Worst Original Song he won at the 13th Golden Raspberry Awards (1993) for "High Times, Hard Times" from Newsies (1992), becoming the first person to win a Razzie and Oscar in the same year.<ref>Template:CitationTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Menken wrote the music for the song, and shared the award with lyricist Jack Feldman.

In 2020, Menken reached EGOT status when he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for co-writing the song "Waiting in the Wings" for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.<ref name="EGOT" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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