Composer, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Alan Irwin Menken is an American musical theatre and film score composer and pianist. Menken is best known for his scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for Little Shop of Horrors, Newsies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted, Tangled and Sausage Party, among others. He is also known for his work on musical theatre works for Broadway and elsewhere. Some of these are based on his Disney films, but other stage hits include Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol and Sister Act. Menken has collaborated with such lyricists as Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Glenn Slater, Stephen Schwartz and David Zippel. He has also won 11 Grammy Awards, a Tony Award and other honors.