Alan Menken by Julie

Alan Menken by Julie - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

As one of the songs from Alan Menken’s Newsies said, “[n]ow is the time to seize the day”. If the opportunity presented itself, I would seize the day and have dinner with Alan Menken because of his skill and experience in composing for some of Disney’s most famous movies and some of the most notable Broadway musicals.
Alan Menken has composed for many Disney movies, such as The Little Mermaid, Newsies, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Enchanted, Tangled, and my personal favorite, Beauty and the Beast. As a child, I enjoyed watching these movie-musicals just as every child does. However, unlike other children, these movies sparked my interest in becoming a performer. Whenever I watch these movies, I am inspired to pursue a career in performing like the actors who sang and voiced the characters in these movies. Alan Menken was able to create a musical score that began my passion for performing.
Soon after realizing my new life career goal, I gained interest in musical theater. While delving into this new live-action performance world, I discovered more works of Alan Menken. His musical theater repertoire includes Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, A Christmas Carol, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Newsies, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and many more. I instantly fell in love with his Disney musicals because he was able to transform the fantasy world of a Disney movie to the stage perfectly. Seeing these stories play out on stage and experiencing the thrill of live theater made my interest in becoming a performer bloom even further, while creating a new peaked interest in live theater performance.
If I had the opportunity to have dinner with Alan Menken, I would thank him with all my heart for composing the works that he did. Without Menken’s influence on the scores for these movies and musicals, there is a possibility that I would not have fallen in love with performing like I did when I saw the work that he had created. Alan Menken’s music and stage-adaptations of Disney movies inspired me to pursue a career in musical theater, and has helped make me who I am today. His works of art have left a huge impression on millions of people around the world, and will be remembered throughout history.