Little Shop of Horrors Creators: Ashman & Menken
Alan Menken and Howard Ashman backstage at the 1989 Academy Awards (Photo courtesy of AMPAS).
HOWARD ASHMAN
Born in Baltimore in 1950, playwright, lyricist, and director Howard Ashman was the son of an ice cream cone manufacturer. He did his first plays at the Children’s Theater Association where he played Peter Pan. In 1971, he received a degree from Goddard College and went on to get his MFA from Indiana University in 1974. That year he moved to New York and worked as an editor at the publishing company Grosset & Dunlap. He began writing plays during this period and in 1977 became the artistic director of the Workshop of the Players Art Foundation’s WPA Theater in New York.
In 1979, he collaborated with Alan Menken for the first time on a musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater — the pairing’s first foray into sci-fi musical satire.
After a career that coined him the Father of the Disney Renaissance — a stretch of creation that included his and Menken’s work on Oliver & Company, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
Ashman passed away at age 40 before the completion of Beauty and the Beast from complications due to HIV/AIDs, three years after his diagnosis. Beauty and the Beast was released dedicated to him with the end credits citing “To our friend, Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful.”
ALAN MENKEN
Composer, conductor and EGOT Alan Menken was born in 1949 in New York to a father who was a boogie-woogie musician and a dentist, and a mother who was an actress, dancer and playwright. Encouraged in his musical talents at a young age, Menken received a Superior on his composition at the New York Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest — he was aged 9.
Menken attended NYU, graduating in 1972, after which he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop where he met collaborator Howard Ashman. During this time he worked as “a ballet and modern dance accompanist, a musical director for club acts, a jingle writer, arranger, a songwriter for Sesame Street and a vocal coach”. He also wrote many revues and cabarets, and contributed to musicals that were never produced including an adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a parody of the film The Rose, written by iconic drag queen Divine.
Menken’s big break happened with his collaboration with Ashman on God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. He and Ashman would go on to fuel the Disney Renaissance together — writing music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Menken’s Broadway debut was the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast in 1994. Menken went on to write music for many beloved films such as Newsies (1992), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and Hercules (1997). His other film scores for Disney have included Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010).
Menken, now 77, lives with his wife Janis in North Salem, NY and has two daughters Anna and Nora. With Ashman, Menken wrote upwards of 90 pieces of music.
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Alan Menken and Howard Ashman backstage at the 1989 Academy Awards (Photo courtesy of AMPAS).
More about Little Shop of Horrors:
Behind the Curtain: The History Behind the Horror
The historical inspiration behind Little Shop of Horrors, from science-fiction short story to Hollywood B-list film starring a young Jack Nicholson.
Little Shop Themes, Styles, & Genres
A peek at some of the real life inspirations behind themes found in Little Shop of Horrors.
Current & Upcoming
PCS Teens: Fall Improv Classes
Through fun games, acting lessons, and spontaneous character creation these classes will unlock your inner creative genius and give you the chance to get out of your comfort zone in a fun and safe environment.
PCS Movie Night: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Suddenly we're seeing more Little Shop of Horrors!! Join us in the Ellyn Bye Studio for the 1986 rendition as we prep for our main stage production. This is a FREE Movie Screening. Our bar will be open before the show with both alcoholic and NA beverages. You are ENCOURAGED to bring your own candy. That's right, BYOC (just no popcorn. Popcorn will be confiscated!). Doors at 6PM, movie at 6:30PM sharp. See ya there!
BIPOC Affinity Night w/ MexicaTiahui Aztec Dance Group
Join us before Little Shop of Horrors for a special pre-show dance performance from MexicaTiahui Aztec Dance Group. There will be drinks, snacks and fun for the whole family! Doors will open at 5:30PM, performance at 6PM.
Space, Plants & Donuts!
Join us at our free pre-show event on November 29th for hands on presentations from Portland Carnivorous Plants & Rose City Astronomers! Learn about solar eclipses, extra terrestrial life, meet some real-life carnivorous plants..and heck..have a free donut while you do it! And of course, make sure to catch our 2PM matinee of Little Shop of Horrors.
PCS Presents: A Puppet Making Workshop
Join us on December 5th & 6th from 3PM to 5pm for a two-day puppet crafting extravaganza!! Hosted by Alyssa Marie & Becca Lewis, the brilliant designers, builders, brains and puppet team behind PCS' Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. PCS welcomes you to A Puppet Making Workshop. If you've ever had the desire to create something with a life of its own, this is it!! Bring a friend, meet a friend...or make a friend! We've got you covered :) Ages 18+
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
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