A biography of alan menken characters

* Alan Menken was also the 2017 recipient of The Johnny Mercer Award, the SHOF’s highest honor

Alan Menken has composed some of the most beloved songs and musical scores of our time.

His work has introduced an entire generation to the world of musicals; both stage and screen.

Born on July 22nd, 1949, Alan grew up as a child of the 60's, dreaming of a career as a singer-songwriter, while assuming he'd become a dentist like most of the other men in his family.

While enjoying a spectacularly unsuccessful stint as a pre-med student at NYU, he was introduced to the BMI Musical Theater Workshop, run by the great conductor, Lehman Engel. There, Alan found his calling as a musical theater composer-lyricist.

Along with performing on the New York cabaret circuit and writing and producing jingles and Sesame Street songs, some of the musicals and revues that Menken wrote songs for in this period are Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy, Real Life Funn