Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Alan Menken

Born July 22, 1949 (1949-07-22) (age 58)
New Rochelle, New York, U.S. Flag of the United States
Years active 1980-Present
Spouse(s) Janis Menken (1972-Present)

Alan Menken (born July 22, 1949 in New Rochelle, New York) is a Jewish American Broadway and an eight time Academy Award winning composer and pianist. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New Rochelle ( French: Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in the south-east portion of the U The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1099 - First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New Rochelle ( French: Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in the south-east portion of the U New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Menken has collaborated with several renowned lyricists including Howard Ashman (1950-1991), Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz. Howard Ashman ( May 17, 1950 - March 14, 1991) was an American playwright and movie music lyricist Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944 is an English Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American Musical theater lyricist and Composer.

Contents

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. New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City. Pre-medical (often shortened to pre-med) is a term used to describe a track an undergraduate student in the United States pursues prior to becoming a medical student After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, through which he met Howard Ashman. The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop is a workshop in New York for Musical theatre Composers, Lyricists and Librettists 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. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. God Bless You Mr Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black 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. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Little Shop of Horrors is a Rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises The Drama Desk Award, created in 1955, is an award which recognizes shows produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-off-Broadway, and Little Shop was adapted for a successful motion picture and later a Broadway run. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located

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. A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical Entertainment that combines Music, dance and sketches. 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. Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American Musical theatre Lyricist who most-frequently works with Stephen Flaherty Mike Ockrent ( June 18, 1946 - December 2, 1999) was a British stage director well-known both for his Broadway Musicals Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. 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. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented

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. Walt Disney Animation Studios (as Walt Disney Feature Animation is a key element of The Walt Disney Company, and the oldest existing Animation studio in the world The Little Mermaid is a 1989 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation with a pencil test beginning on September 23, 1988 and BATB redirects here If you were looking for Back at the Barnyard which is abbreviated as BATB see here. Aladdin is a 1992 animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 25 Pocahontas is the thirty-third Animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 Animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 Hercules is a 1997 Animated feature, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June Home on the Range is the 44th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on April Menken has received eight Academy Awards and has one of the highest Oscar to film ratios of anyone in the industry. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. He recently produced all the music for the Disney movie, Enchanted (2007)

Menken's Sister Act the Musical was produced in 2006. Enchanted is a 2007 Musical film, directed by Kevin Lima and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Sister Act the Musical is a musical with a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and music by Alan A musical version of The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway in January 2008. This is the article about the stage musical For the 1989 film see The Little Mermaid (1989 film. 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. Finding Kraftland is a 2006 independent documentary from Richard Kraft productions staring Stacey J

Selected works

Upcoming Projects

Awards

Academy Award Nominations and Wins

Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic