Alan Menken

Alan Menken, a famous Composer, Actor, and Artist, was born on July 22,1949 in New Rochelle, New York. Alan received a taste of the music life from the start, his mother, Judy Menken, was a young actress/playwright and his father, Norman Menken, DDS, was a piano playing dentist (Biography Comments 1). His whole family loved Broadway musicals and they spent many nights together just listening to his father play piano, Alan once said, “I showed an interest in piano at a very young age, but I hated

Born July 22nd, 1949, Alan Menken has lived an extensive life of contributing enchanting pieces to the world of musical entertainment. He was raised in New York with his two sisters --the siblings parented by Judy Menken, an aspiring actress, and Norman Menken, a dentist who was passionate about playing piano. Even early on in his life, Menken had a passion for music. At a young age, he began playing piano and violin. Sometime afterwards, he began playing the accordion and guitar, but his earlier

For our Youth The late comedian Ralphie May once satirically portrayed a Muslim as “the new boogie man,” and that “… One of them stinky, unibrow S.O.B. will show up right behind you with a big a** turbine, beard, genie bottle in one hand, magic carpet in the other, dynamite belt, last thing you’ll smell is couscous, camel hump, and diesel fuel, Boom! Then he blows you up,” (I reiterate, this was 100% satirical, and his morals did parallel with that of a progressive) during a stand-up bit where deconstructing

storytelling archetypes of the early Disney princess movie-musicals and a modern reinvention of these stereotypes in order to create a harmonious blend between the two. However, both “When Will my Life Begin?” and “I Have a Dream,” with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater, employ diverse musical references and techniques that nevertheless starkly challenge the construction of the typical Disney

largely due to the genius creative mind of Alan Menken. Menken is best known for composing the scores for some of the most beloved Disney classics, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Hercules, Pocahontas, and Tangled. He also made his mark composing for highly acclaimed Broadway musicals, including Little Shop of Horrors and Newsies, as well as the stage adaptations of some of his Disney hits. The familiar songs composed by Menken are permanently ingrained in our minds and

Alan Menken, pianist, has worked in the most popular Disney films that included The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules and Enchanted. For Menken, the use of lyrics was a real important factor in Disney’s music. In The Little Mermaid, he mentioned we wanted an “I want” moment in a Disney film because there hasn’t been an “I want” moment before. Menken states, “My favorite part is that motif [that sounds like] water flowing

death experience, the road back, the reborn) that he or she need to overcome to be transformed into a hero. However, these obstacles play a very important role in the hero’s stage of initiation. The movie “Hercules” by Walt Disney and the creator Alan Menken, we encounter the characters of the movie which are Hercules of course, Philoctetes the trainer, Pegasus the horse, loyal companion, Megera the love of Hercules and Hades the

Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy musical written by Howard Ashman and composed by Alan Menken. It follows the story of a failing floral shop, Mushnik's Skid Row Florists, in the midst of an extremely poor and under thriving Skid Row. In the middle of the owner and employees lamenting over their misfortunes of no costumers and the woes of living on Skid Row, the owner, Mr. Mushnik, decides to close down the shop. Upon hearing this, an employee, Seymour Krelborn, unveils a plant he has been working

return, the atmosphere of the mood changes completely to that of a budding love story. The apogee of this romantic plot is accompanied by the memorable theme "Beauty and the Beast," sung by Angela Lansbury, lyrics by Howard Ashman, and music by Alan Menken, This piece of music (as does the whole film) relies heavily on the archetypical trope of star-crossed lovers who, theoretically, shouldn't be together, but defy the odds. This coerces the audience to unknowingly root for the couple. This is supported

Last Saturday, September 30th, I had the opportunity to see ACT's production of Beauty and the Beast at Richland High School. Beauty and the Beast was originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions with music by Alan Menken, words by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. The story is about a young prince who is put under a spell for disrespecting an old enchantress. He is turned into a hideous, fearsome beast while his servants are turned into enchanted objects. the spell