One amusing story was about how he wrote this “dumb melody” for Ashman to write lyrics to, then tried unsuccessfully to rewrite the music until finally they decided to go with the original “dumb song” (now easily recognized as “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast).Īlan Menken’s music has inspired me throughout my life. ![]() I loved the whole show, but the best parts for me were hearing his songs as performed by HIM (not another artist’s interpretation) and hearing his stories about the collaborative process. At the end of the show, we were honored to hear a premiere performance of a new song written for the live action Beauty and the Beast film, set to release in 2017. The stories included funny tales about how this or that song came to be as well as moving stories about how discouragement over career failures, the 9/11 attack, and the death of his collaborative partner Howard Ashman affected him. Menken’s performance style was fast, fluid, and organic it felt almost like he was improvising the entire time. The show was presented in a very real, comfortable, personable way. Menken shared what it was like to work on musicals in New York, how he began working for Disney, and how it was to collaborate with lyricists such as Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Stephan Schwartz, and Glenn Slater. ![]() After a quick image of his awards cabinet (“Look at this stuff? Isn’t it neat?”), he went right into the story of how he became a composer. Menken kicked off the night with a rousing performance of “Make Way for Prince Ali” from Aladdin. Throughout the show, Menken would take turns performing his songs (playing and singing) and telling brief stories about his personal life, career, and the development of each film, musical, or song. It was quite an enjoyable experience getting a glimpse into the life of this composer! The stage was set with a single beautiful grand piano and three screens, which would show close-ups, screen shots from films and musicals, photographs, and brief clips of interviews or collaborations in composing. ![]() Some of his most well-known scores include musicals/films/shows like Little Shop of Horrors, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Hercules, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Newsies, Tangled, Enchanted, A Christmas Carol (musical), Sister Act (musical), and the recently popular television show Galavant, for which he composed 80 songs for just 18 episodes. The delightful one-man show featured countless stories and songs from his career as an award-winning composer for Disney, Broadway, television, etc.Īlan Menken has received many prestigious recognitions for his musical talents (including 8 Academy Awards). Last night I had the privilege of attending the debut performance of “A Whole New World of Alan Menken” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
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