Be Our Guest
At the Masonic
Temple, the stage
version of Beauty
and the Beast
features new
songs by
Alan Menken.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
lan Menken has moved on to
other projects since composing
film and theater music for
Beauty and the Beast, but he
looks back with both joy and
sadness.
The joy translates into
the production Detroit au-
diences will experience
March 19-April 28 at
the Masonic Temple
Theatre. The sadness remains behind the
scenes with the loss of the show's origi-
nal lyricist, Howard Ashman, to AIDS.
Menken talks openly about both emo-
tions.
"What I like about Beauty and the Beast
is the compendium of musical styles," said
the composer, 46, who is working on three
new musicals —King David, Hercules and
The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
"When I hear my own score on stage,
stylistically it reminds me of so many of
the musicals I heard growing up. `HI Can't
Love Her,' is pure Broadway in the tradi-
tion of Rodgers and Hammerstein," and is
one of seven new songs added to the stage
version of Beauty and the Beast. "Human
Again" (which was cut from the film), fea-
tures lyrics by Ashman, and six others in-
clude lyrics by Tony and Academy Award
winner Tim Rice. Rice also helped finish
the Aladdin score following Ashman's
death in 1991. Known for his work on
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar,
Rice has teamed with Menken for King
David to celebrate the 3,000th anniver-
sary of Jerusalem.
"Because of the life and death situation,
Beauty and the Beast was probably the
most emotionally wrenching project I've
done," said Menken, who met Ashman
through a teacher and collaborated with
him intermittently on a number of theater
pieces, including their successful Little
Shop of Horrors.
"Howard had an extraordinary intellect
and talent, and I felt comfortable with him.
We were close in age and came from sim-
i
lar home backgrounds. We were both prac-
tical and driven.
"When Howard asked me to work on the
score for The Little Mermaid, I jumped at
the opportunity. After his death, toward
the completion of the Beauty and the Beast
film, it wasn't difficult working with oth-
er lyricists in artistic terms because I had
collaborated with many different people
throughout my career.
"It was good to be able to work with Tim
and earned Academy, Golden Globe and
Grammy awards.
Menken attributes the volume of mate-
rial he develops to high-tech equipment.
"My work station has a keyboard and
computer, and I'm locked up to video
screens," explained Menken, who uses
these devices to link his Hollywood scores
precisely to the actions shown on film.
Rice and be diverted from the depression "While I find that to be absolutely the most
and upset that come with dealing with a fluid way to compose, I sometimes settle
death from AIDS. Tim allowed me to step in at a piano with a mini-recorder that can
into the driver's seat, and it happened to set down anything that I like."
work out very smoothly."
Menken, who met his wife while she was
Menken's interest in music began ear- dancing in a rock ballet he had written,
ly, encouraged by both his parents but es- leaves the technical instrumentation in
pecially his mother, who had been an his studio and turns to conventional piano
actress. In contrast to his sisters, who and guitar to help his daughters — Anna,
leaned toward acting, he studied piano and 11, and Nora, 7 — with their practicing.
violin and entered competitions established
"I don't have much free time," said the
for young composers.
Westchester resident, who sporadically
In the '60s, like other teen-agers, he tried gets to swim and golf, his favorite leisure
guitar and joined some bands. After grad- activities. "I work and I'm with my fami-
uating from New York University in 1971 ly. I have a horse I like to ride but that hap-
with a degree in music, he intensified pens so seldom now."
his composing, performed as a singer/song-
"Our family has a strong Jewish iden-.
writer, wrote and arranged club acts, pro- tity, and we celebrate the High Holy Days
duced commercial jingles and showcased and Passover," revealed Menken, who tried
theater pieces.
his hand at two plays with Jewish themes
His animated films for Disney, which long before he became associated with King
include Pocahontas, shaped his success David.
"Beauty and the Beast," recorded by Celine Dion
and Peabo Bryson, was Alan Menken's first top-10
single and the No. 1 adult contemporary song in
the country. The animated film version garnered
Menken an Academy Award for best score. The
Broadway musical was nominated for nine Tony
Awards in 1994 and a 1995 Grammy Award for
Best Show Cast Album.