Alan Menken is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musical theatre

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 and film composer and pianist.

Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...

, Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...

, Aladdin, and Pocahontas

Pocahontas (1995 film)

Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...

have each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...

, Hercules

Hercules (1997 film)

Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...

, The Last Castle

The Last Castle

The Last Castle is a 2001 American drama film directed by Rod Lurie, starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ruffalo.The film portrays a struggle between inmates and the warden of the prison, based on the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. Eugene Irwin, a highly...

, Home on the Range, Enchanted, and Tangled. Menken has collaborated on several occasions with lyricists including Howard Ashman

Howard Ashman

Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...

, Tim Rice

Tim Rice

Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...

, Glenn Slater

Glenn Slater

Glenn Slater is an American lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers. He was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid and received his second Tony nomination for Sister Act.-Biography:Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but...

, and Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...

. Having won a total of eight Oscars, he has won more Oscars than any other living individual. He has been Oscar-nominated a total of nineteen times.

Life and career

Menken was born in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 into a Jewish family, the son of Judith and Norman Menken, a dentist. He developed an interest in music at an early age, studying piano and violin. He went to New Rochelle High School

New Rochelle High School

New Rochelle High School is a public high school, comprising grades 9 through 12, in New Rochelle, New York, operated by the City School District of New Rochelle. NRHS serves over 3,300 students; offering more than 240 courses, including honors, research and advanced placement courses.NRHS...

 in New Rochelle, New York. He attended college as a pre-med student, but later changed his focus to music at NYU Steinhardt. After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a workshop in New York for musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists.-History:The BMI Workshop was founded in 1961 by Lehman Engel and the performing rights organization BMI ....

. 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

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 1979 WPA Theatre production of the play God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine, is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published in 1965. The plot focuses on Eliot Rosewater, the primary trustee of the philanthropic Rosewater Foundation, whom one of the family lawyers, Norman Mushari, is attempting to have declared...

, an adaptation of a Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

 novel. This was well received, but three years later, he achieved greater success with the 1982 Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors (musical)

Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...

, again with Ashman, for which he earned a Drama Desk Award

Drama Desk Award

The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...

 nomination. Little Shop was adapted for a successful motion picture and later received a Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 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

Revue

A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...

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

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

 classic A Christmas Carol, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Lynn Ahrens

Lynn Ahrens is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years...

 and book by Mike Ockrent

Mike Ockrent

Mike Ockrent was a British stage director, well-known both for his Broadway musicals and smaller niche plays. He was educated at Highgate School. Through directing Educating Rita and Follies, he became an established figure in London theatre...

, debuted at Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

's Paramount Theater. The show proved successful and is becoming an annual New York holiday event. Menken received both Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 and Drama Desk Award nominations for the music to the stage musical version of Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (musical)

Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...

which opened on Broadway in 1994.

Menken is best known, however, for his work over the past two decades with Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 scoring numerous films, including Disney

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

 animated classics The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (1989 film)

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...

, Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...

, Aladdin, Pocahontas

Pocahontas (1995 film)

Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...

, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...

, Hercules

Hercules (1997 film)

Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...

and Home on the Range, and most recently, Disney's 2010 animated film Tangled. He also wrote music for the Disney live-action films Newsies

Newsies

Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...

(1992) and Enchanted (2007). Menken has received dual Academy Awards

Academy Awards

An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 for Best Score

Academy Award for Original Music Score

The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...

 and Best Song

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 on four of these projects. With eight Academy Award wins (four each for Best Original Score and Best Original Song), only composer Alfred Newman

Alfred Newman

Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...

 (nine wins) and Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 (twenty two wins) have received more Oscars than Menken. He is tied in third place with late costume designer Edith Head

Edith Head

Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...

. He currently holds the record for the most wins for a living person. He was named a Disney Legend in 2001.

In 1998, Menken composed a song for Touchstone

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...

's Armageddon: "Mister Big Time", performed by Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...

.

A musical version of The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid (musical)

The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...

opened on Broadway in January 2008. Menken's Sister Act the Musical

Sister Act the Musical

Sister Act is a musical written by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Alan Menken. It is based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name...

was produced in London, 2009, and opened on Broadway in Spring 2011. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Score for his work.

Menken received the 2,422nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

 on November 10, 2010.

He is working on stage adaptations of The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...

, Newsies

Newsies

Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...

and Aladdin.

In December 2010, he was a guest on NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

s new quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is an hour-long weekly radio news panel game show produced by Chicago Public Radio and National Public Radio. It is distributed by NPR in the United States, internationally on NPR Worldwide and on the Internet via podcast, and typically broadcast on weekends by member...

.

Personal

Menken and his wife, Janis, a former ballet dancer, reside in the suburbs of New York City with their two children, Anna and Nora.

Score and songs

• Little Shop of Horrors
  Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
  Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
  
  1986 (Oscar nominee)
• The Little Mermaid
  The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
  The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
  
  1989 (Oscar winner)
• Beauty and the Beast
  Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
  Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
  
  1991 (Oscar winner)
• Newsies
  Newsies
  Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
  
  1992
• Aladdin 1992 (Oscar winner)
• Life with Mikey
  Life with Mikey
  Life with Mikey is a 1993 comedy film starring Michael J. Fox, Christina Vidal, Nathan Lane, Cyndi Lauper and David Krumholtz....
  
  1993
• Pocahontas
  Pocahontas (1995 film)
  Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
  
  1995 (Oscar winner)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)
  The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
  
  1996 (Oscar nominee)
• Hercules
  Hercules (1997 film)
  Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
  
  1997 (Oscar nominee)
• Home on the Range 2004
• The Shaggy Dog
  The Shaggy Dog (2006 film)
  The Shaggy Dog is a 2006 film by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the second remake of the 1959 film of the same name, which was first remade as a television film in 1994....
  
  2006
• Enchanted 2007 (Oscar nominee)
• Tangled 2010 (Oscar nominee)
• Mirror Mirror (film)
  Mirror Mirror (film)
  Mirror Mirror is an upcoming comedy fantasy film based on ‘’Snow White’’ by the Brothers Grimm. It is directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, and Sean Bean. The film, which had previously been known as Untitled Snow White Project, was officially titled Mirror...
  
  2012

Songs only

• Rocky V
  Rocky V
  Rocky V is an American film released as the fifth film in the Rocky series in 1990. It stars Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Stallone's real life son Sage, and real life boxer Tommy Morrison as boxer Tommy Gunn, a talented yet raw boxer...
  
  (the song "The Measure of a Man", score by Bill Conti
  Bill Conti
  William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
  
  ) 1990
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It is the second film in the Home Alone series and the direct sequel to Home Alone. The film stars Macaulay Culkin in the lead role as Kevin McCallister, while...
  
  (the song "My Christmas Tree") 1992
• Crimson Tide
  Crimson Tide (film)
  The film has uncredited additional writing by Quentin Tarantino, much of it being the pop-culture reference-laden dialogue.The U.S. Navy objected to many of the elements in the script — particularly the aspect of mutiny on board a U.S. naval vessel — and as such, the film was produced...
  
  (the song "Eternal Father, Strong to Save
  Eternal Father, Strong to Save
  "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a hymn often associated with the Royal Navy or the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Accordingly, it is often known as the Royal Navy Hymn or the United States Navy Hymn , and sometimes by the last line of its first verse, "For Those in Peril on...
  
  ", performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
  City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
  The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is a professional, philharmonic symphony orchestra, over 61 years old, predominantly it is composed of Czech and Slovak classical and jazz musicians...
  
  , score by Hans Zimmer
  Hans Zimmer
  Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
  
  ) 1995
• Armageddon (composer, the song "Mister Big Time", performed by Jon Bon Jovi
  Jon Bon Jovi
  Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
  
  , score by Trevor Rabin
  Trevor Rabin
  Trevor Charles Rabin is a South African born musician, best known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British progressive rock band Yes from 1983–1994, and since then, as a film composer.- Early years :...
  
   and Harry Gregson-Williams
  Harry Gregson-Williams
  Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
  
  ) 1998
• Pearl Harbor
  Pearl Harbor (film)
  Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
  
  (composer, the song "There You'll Be
  There You'll Be
  "There You'll Be" is a song by Faith Hill, which became a hit single in 2001. Written by Diane Warren and Alan Menken, known for his Disney film scores such as "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Pocahontas" and "Tangled", it was featured on the Pearl Harbor soundtrack...
  
  ", performed by Faith Hill
  Faith Hill
  Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
  
  , score by Hans Zimmer
  Hans Zimmer
  Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
  
  ) 2001
• Captain America: The First Avenger
  Captain America: The First Avenger
  Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
  
  (the song "Star Spangled Man", score by Alan Silvestri
  Alan Silvestri
  Alan Anthony Silvestri is an American film composer and conductor.-Career:Silvestri is best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, having scored Romancing the Stone , the Back to the Future trilogy , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Death Becomes Her , Forrest Gump , Contact ,...
  
  ) 2011

Television

• Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
  Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue
  Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is an animated drug prevention television special starring many of the popular cartoon characters from American weekday, Sunday morning and Saturday morning television at the time of this film's release...
  
  (supervising composer, the song "Wonderful Ways to Say No") 1990
• A Christmas Carol
  A Christmas Carol (2004 film)
  A Christmas Carol, also known as A Christmas Carol: The Musical, is a 2004 television film based on a 1994 stage musical of the same name, with songs written by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens . The musical is based on Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name, produced by Hallmark...
  
  2004

Musicals

• Little Shop of Horrors
  Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
  Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
  
  1982 Off Broadway and 2003 Broadway revival
• Weird Romance 1992 Off Broadway and 2007 revival
• Beauty and the Beast
  Beauty and the Beast (musical)
  Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
  
  1994 Broadway (Tony nominee)
• A Christmas Carol
  A Christmas Carol
  A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
  
  1995 Perennial holiday run (10 years) The Theatre at Madison Square Garden
• King David
  King David (musical)
  King David is a musical, sometimes described as a modern oratorio, with a book and lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Alan Menken. The musical is based on Biblical tales from the Books of Samuel and 1 Chronicles, as well as text from David's Psalms....
  
  1997
• Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
  Der Glöckner von Notre Dame
  Der Glöckner von Notre Dame is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by James Lapine...
  
  1999 German musical
• The Little Mermaid
  The Little Mermaid (musical)
  The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
  
  2008 Broadway (Tony nominee)
• Sister Act the Musical
  Sister Act the Musical
  Sister Act is a musical written by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Alan Menken. It is based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name...
  
  2009 West End, 2011 Broadway (Tony nominee)
• Leap of Faith
  Leap of Faith (musical)
  Leap Of Faith is a musical based on the 1992 American movie of the same name, starring Steve Martin. The music is by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Janus Cercone and Slater about a con man posing as a man of faith, who is redeemed by the love of a good woman.The musical...
  
  2010 (Los Angeles)

Other

• Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular
  Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular
  Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular is a musical show with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, that plays at Disney California Adventure. Based on the Disney film by the same name, the show plays inside Hyperion Theater in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot...
  
  - Theatrical show at Disney California Adventure
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - Attraction at Disney California Adventure
• Newsies
  Newsies
  Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
  
  - Stage Musical Papermill Playhouse
• "Howling at the Moon
  Howling at the Moon
  "Howling at the Moon" is a song written by Alan Menken and Sir Tim Rice, recorded by Australian singer Donna Burke. It was released on the album Shine On! Songs Volume One on 30 September 2011...
  
  ", written with Sir Tim Rice
  Tim Rice
  Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
  
  , was sung by Craig Hinds on the Jock of the Bushveld
  Jock of the Bushveld
  Jock of the Bushveld is a true story by South African author Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick. The book tells of Fitzpatrick's travels with his dog, Jock, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, during the 1880s, when he worked as a storeman, prospector's assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport-rider in the...
  
   (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), released 29 July 2011. It was also sung by Donna Burke
  Donna Burke
  Donna Burke, a singer, narrator, and entrepreneur, was born in Perth, Australia, and moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1996. She lives with her guitarist and husband Bill Benfield and her three cats....
  
   on the Tyler Foundation
  Tyler Foundation
  The Tyler Foundation is a charitable organization located in Tokyo, Japan that offers Psychosocial support to families and children with cancer. The organization has become internationally known since 2006 and has received support from international celebrities including Scott MacIntyre at the...
  
  's charity album, Shine On! Songs Volume One
  Shine On! Songs Volume One
  Shine On! Songs Volume One is a charitable album released on September 30th, 2011 by the Shine On! Songs record label. The album's proceeds will go towards the foundation's programs to give Psychosocial support to children with cancer in Japan and their families, and an additional program to help...
  
  (2011).

Upcoming projects

• Leap of Faith
  Leap of Faith (musical)
  Leap Of Faith is a musical based on the 1992 American movie of the same name, starring Steve Martin. The music is by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and a book by Janus Cercone and Slater about a con man posing as a man of faith, who is redeemed by the love of a good woman.The musical...
  
  , a work-in-progress musical, based on the film Leap of Faith
  Leap of Faith (film)
  Leap of Faith is a 1992 American dramedy film, directed by Richard Pearce and starring Steve Martin, Liam Neeson and Debra Winger. The film is about Jonas Nightengale, a fraudulent Christian faith healer who uses his revival meetings, in Rustwater, Kansas, to bilk believers out of their money.-Plot...
  
  . A workshop was held in May 2008. The Center Theatre Group presented the musical at the Ahmanson Theatre
  Ahmanson Theatre
  The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
  
  , Los Angeles, in early September 2010, with Rob Ashford
  Rob Ashford
  Rob Ashford is an American choreographer and director. He is a seven-time Tony Award nominee , five-time Olivier Award nominee, Emmy Award winner, Drama Desk winner, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.-Biography:...
  
   as director/choreographer.

• Disney has announced that Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame, the Berlin stage musical adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be coming to the Broadway stage in the next couple of years. Although the extended music and new songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz were completed for the 1999 premiere in Germany, the show is being fine tuned for American audiences, with a 2012 premiere anticipated.

• A Broadway musical version of Disney's Aladdin
  Aladdin
  Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
  
  , with a book by Chad Beguelin
  Chad Beguelin
  Chad Beguelin is an American playwright who wrote the lyrics and co-book for the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer. He was nominated for two Tony Awards for his work on the musical, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics...
  
  . The songs will be the ones featured in the movie, along with cut songs written by both Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and the song that Menken wrote by himself for the theatrical adaption at California Adventure (To Be Free).Casey Nicholaw
  Casey Nicholaw
  Casey Nicholaw is an American theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for Tony Awards for directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone , for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot , and choreographing The Book of Mormon , as well as winning for his co-direction...
  
   is expected to direct and choreograph the stage musical Aladdin which is expected to run at the 5th Avenue Theatre
  5th Avenue Theatre
  The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theater building located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land is owned by the University of Washington and was once part of the original campus...
  
  , Seattle, Washington, July 7–31, 2011."

• Menken along with Weird Romance collaborator David Spencer wrote the musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which is currently in Canada.

Academy Award nominations and wins

• 1987
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space", from Little Shop of Horrors
    Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
    Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
    
    
• 1990
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Academy Award for Best Original Score
    The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
    
     - The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Under the Sea
    Under the Sea
    -Parodies:In 1991, this song was parodied by musician Tom Smith with his song, "On The PC". This song was re-written in 1999 as "PC99".The song was parodied on the TV show Kappa Mikey where Mikey tries to convince a squid to live on land with him....
    
    ", from The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Kiss the Girl
    Kiss The Girl
    "Kiss the Girl" is a calypso song from Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid, composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. In the film, the song was performed by Samuel E. Wright...
    
    ", from The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    
• 1992
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Academy Award for Best Original Score
    The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
    
     - Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - Beauty and the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Belle
    Belle
    Belle is the feminine form of the French word which means beautiful.It may also refer to:-Business:* Belle Baby Carriers, a U.S. baby carrier manufacturer* Belle International, a Chinese footwear retailer-Computers and software:...
    
    ", from Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Be Our Guest
    Be Our Guest
    "Be Our Guest" is a 1991 Academy Award-nominated song from the animated film, Beauty and the Beast. The music was written by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The song was sung by Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, and other singers in the background chorus. The song was nominated for an Academy...
    
    ", from Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
• 1993
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Academy Award for Best Original Score
    The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
    
     - Aladdin
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Tim Rice
    Tim Rice
    Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
    
    ) - "A Whole New World
    A Whole New World
    "A Whole New World" is the Oscar winning featured pop single from the soundtrack to the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. It was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is a ballad between the primary characters Aladdin and Jasmine about the new world they are going to discover together....
    
    ", from Aladdin
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - "Friend Like Me", from Aladdin
• 1996
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - "Colors of the Wind
    Colors of the Wind
    "Colors of the Wind" by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was the 1995 Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film, Pocahontas. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Movie...
    
    ", from Pocahontas
    Pocahontas (1995 film)
    Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
    
    
  • Won, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
    Academy Award for Best Original Score
    The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - Pocahontas
    Pocahontas (1995 film)
    Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
    
    
• 1997
  • Nominated, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
    Academy Award for Best Original Score
    The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
    
    
• 1998
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with David Zippel
    David Zippel
    David Joel Zippel is an American musical theatre lyricist.-Biography:Zippel was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is a 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he wrote a "bizarre political musical" called Rotunda...
    
    ) - "Go the Distance", from Hercules
    Hercules (1997 film)
    Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
    
    
• 2008
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - "Happy Working Song", from Enchanted
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - "So Close", from Enchanted
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - "That's How You Know", from Enchanted
• 2011
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Academy Award for Best Original Song
    The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
    
    - (with Glenn Slater
    Glenn Slater
    Glenn Slater is an American lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers. He was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid and received his second Tony nomination for Sister Act.-Biography:Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but...
    
    ) - I See The Light from Tangled

Golden Globe nominations and wins

• 1990
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
    
     for The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) - Motion Picture from - "Under the Sea" The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman) - Motion Picture - "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid
    The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
    The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
    
    

• 1992
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
    
     for Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) for Beauty and the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) for Be Our Guest, from Beauty and the Beast
    Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
    Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
    
    

• 1993
  • Won, Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
    
     for Aladdin
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Tim Rice
    Tim Rice
    Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
    
    ) - "A Whole New World
    A Whole New World
    "A Whole New World" is the Oscar winning featured pop single from the soundtrack to the 1992 Disney film Aladdin. It was composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice. The song is a ballad between the primary characters Aladdin and Jasmine about the new world they are going to discover together....
    
    ", from Aladdin
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) for Friend Like Me, from Aladdin
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Howard Ashman
    Howard Ashman
    Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
    
    ) for Prince Ali from Aladdin

• 1996
  • Won, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) for "Colors of the Wind
    Colors of the Wind
    "Colors of the Wind" by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was the 1995 Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film, Pocahontas. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Movie...
    
    " from Pocahontas
    Pocahontas (1995 film)
    Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
    
    
  • Nominated, Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
    
     for Pocahontas
    Pocahontas (1995 film)
    Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
    
    

• 1997
  • Nominated, Best Original Score
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
    The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
    
     for The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
    
    

• 1998
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with David Zippel
    David Zippel
    David Joel Zippel is an American musical theatre lyricist.-Biography:Zippel was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is a 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he wrote a "bizarre political musical" called Rotunda...
    
    ) - Go the Distance from Hercules
    Hercules (1997 film)
    Hercules is a 1997 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker...
    
    

• 2008
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Stephen Schwartz
    Stephen Schwartz (composer)
    Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
    
    ) - That's How You Know from Enchanted

• 2011
  • Nominated, Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
    Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
    
     (with Glenn Slater
    Glenn Slater
    Glenn Slater is an American lyricist who collabrates with Alan Menken and other musical theatre composers. He was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid and received his second Tony nomination for Sister Act.-Biography:Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York, but...
    
    ) - I See The Light from Tangled

Tony Awards

• 1994 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Beauty and the Beast
  Beauty and the Beast (musical)
  Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
  
  [nominee]
• 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score - The Little Mermaid
  The Little Mermaid (musical)
  The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
  
  [nominee]
• 2011 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Sister Act [nominee]

Drama Desk Awards

• 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Little Shop of Horrors
  Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
  Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
  
  [nominee]
• 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Beauty and the Beast
  Beauty and the Beast (musical)
  Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
  
  [nominee]
• 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music - Sister Act [nominee]

Further reading

• Disney Biography of Menken
• Menken, Alan. Britannica Book of the Year, 1997. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
• Interview with Alan Menken, theartsdesk.com. Posted May 16, 2010.

External links

• MusicalTalk interview with Alan Menken
• SoundtrackNet entry for Alan Menken
• The Whole New World of Alan Menken
• Alan Menken: "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST captures the magic of Disney animations and brings it to the stage" Alan Menken in Barcelona's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
• Comprehensive Q&A with Alan Menken on theartsdesk.com (May 16, 2010)