Composer Alan Menken, whose theatrical successes include “Newsies” and “Little Shop of Horrors” and whose scores for Disney animated films include “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin,” has become one of the most prolific and popular songwriters in the musicals genre. A former jingle writer, Menken (and late writing partner Howard Ashman) struck off-Broadway gold in 1982 with “Little Shop,” and Menken has not forsaken Broadway for the big screen. On the contrary, he’s had four Broadway shows in the past five years, including “The Little Mermaid,” “Sister Act,” “Leap of Faith” and “Newsies.”
For all that success (including winning eight Academy Awards), in his heart of hearts Menken wants to be an EGOT. That’s the rare occasion when someone wins an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Richard Rodgers, Jonathan Tunick and Marvin Hamlisch are the only composers who have done so (Rodgers and Hamlisch also won Pulitzers). Menken is just an Emmy away from joining that exclusive group, and he has a shot on Sept. 22, when a nominated song he wrote for the sitcom, “The Neighbors,” goes up for the award.
In June, Menken agreed to a phone interview with writer and performer Rabbi Sol Solomon (“Shalom Dammit! An Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon”) that was broadcast on this writer’s weekly radio program, “Dave’s Gone By.” Below are a couple of highlights from the 40-minute interview. To hear the whole conversation, including music from Menken’s shows, visit: https://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/5395. For just the interview, please check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgWMugH_DSk.
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MENKEN: All the men in my family had been dentists.
RABBI SOL: Oy gevalt! I have to ask, did your father pull your own teeth, or did he send you to someone else?
MENKEN: He did! My father took care of my teeth. And my father was a pioneer in the use of nitrous oxide, which explains some of the inside information I had for “Little Shop of Horrors.”
RABBI SOL: Oh my God, yes. That makes total sense!
MENKEN: When I wrote “Little Shop of Horrors,” my dad was actually president of the New York chapter of the American Analgesia Society, a body of dentists who promote the use of nitrous oxide as safe.
RABBI SOL: What did your family think of that character in “Little Shop?”
MENKEN: Initially, I would say they were less-than-ecstatic. But when the show became successful, they changed their tune. . . My dad justified it by saying, “Look, if you think a plant can eat people, then I guess you could think a dentist could laugh himself to death on nitrous oxide.” So he was fine with that.
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MENKEN: My first big musical was an adaptation of a Kurt Vonnegut novel called, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.” And that was the first produced musical of mine that I wrote with the late, great Howard Ashman.
RABBI SOL: Did you have any contact with Vonnegut, or did his publisher just give permission?
MENKEN: Oh yes! While we were still in rehearsal, Kurt came by one of our rehearsals and looked at what we were doing. And I conspicuously remember Kurt dancing his way out of our studio with happiness. He was a very generous supporter of what Howard Ashman and I were doing and a very, very brilliant and nice man. And, in fact, his daughter Edie became one of our producers. Kurt became a very important person in our lives.
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RABBI SOL: What was it that made you specifically click with Howard Ashman?
MENKEN: Howard was, to be honest, the greatest musical-theater talent of our generation. His death was a terrible tragedy. Howard was a brilliant director, book writer, lyricist. He understood the structure of musicals, and he understood how to use musical styles in dramatic pieces in a really important way. . . David Geffen was a big proponent of Howard’s talent and put Howard in touch with Disney. And Howard, thank goodness, brought me with him. Howard was one of those great theater minds. . .
There were plenty of times Howard and I wrote things that we were very unsure. . . I remember, we wrote the song “Belle,” the opening to “Beauty and the Beast.” He made me wait about two weeks before we sent that song out because he was afraid that people at Disney were gonna laugh at us. A seven-minute opening number for this movie? They’re gonna think we’re crazy. He was very insecure about it, and, of course, they loved it.
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What was Tim Rice like?
He’s the most removed from me as far as culture and temperament. He’s English, he’s a knight…
RABBI SOL: Not even an afternoon? I’m sorry, continue.
MENKEN: (chuckles ruefully) Oh, Rabbi. He’s not a type-A person at all. He’s got a very healthy attitude about life. A delightful, funny, wonderful man. Much of our work was done remotely, with him in England and me in New York. But we would fly over to work with each other.
RABBI SOL: What about David Zippel (Disney’s “Hercules”)?
MENKEN: David Zippel is just so fertile! He has such a fertile imagination. He’s stylistically evoking the ability, the quality of a Cole Porter. A very brilliant lyricist.
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RABBI SOL: What would be your favorite shows that you have seen – not your own – of the past ten or 15 years?
MENKEN: (long pause) I love “Book of Mormon.” I loved “The Producers” – as you can tell, I like to laugh. I loved “Wicked”; I thought “Wicked” was wonderful. I thought “Hairspray” was a wonderful musical.
RABBI SOL: What are your favorite musicals of all time?
MENKEN: “Fiddler on the Roof.”
RABBI SOL: OF COURSE!
MENKEN: “West Side Story,” (pause) “My Fair Lady.” “Sweeney Todd,” “Into the Woods.” “The King and I.”
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RABBI SOL: We all know this happens in the theater: It almost happens, it’s about to happen – and then the wind changes by one degree. How do you deal with that?
MENKEN: Don’t work on one project; work on five projects at once. Just always be starting new projects. Don’t ever allow yourself to put all your eggs in one basket, ever ever, ever. This is something we learned from Lehman Engel. You hope that something will happen, but don’t ever count on one thing happening.
- by David Lefkowitz
