ALAN MENKEN - Music
Alan Menken (Music). Theatre: God Bless You Mr. Rosewater; Little Shop of Horrors; Real Life Funnies; Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy; Kicks; The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz; Beauty and the Beast; A Christmas Carol; Weird Romance; King David; Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame; The Little Mermaid; Sister Act; Leap of Faith and Newsies. Film: Little Shop of Horrors; The Little Mermaid; Beauty and the Beast; Newsies; Aladdin; Pocahontas; The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Hercules; Life with Mikey; Lincoln (TV miniseries); Home on the Range; Noel; Enchanted; Shaggy Dog; Tangled and Mirror Mirror. Songs: Rocky V; Home Alone 2 and Captain America. Awards: eight Oscars® (19 nominations), 11 Grammy Awards® (including Song of the Year), seven Golden Globes®, Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, New York Drama Critics, Olivier and London’s Evening Standard Awards. Honors: Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Doctorates from New York University and University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
HOWARD ASHMAN - Lyrics
Howard Ashman (Lyrics). Best known as a pivotal creative mind behind The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast (which is dedicated to “Our friend, Howard Ashman, who gave a Mermaid her voice and a Beast his soul…”) Ashman’s first love was theatre. Ashman was a founder of Off-Off-Broadway’s renowned WPA Theater, where he conceived, wrote and directed God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, as well as the classic musical, Little Shop of Horrors (both music by Alan Menken). In 1986, he wrote and directed the Broadway musical Smile (music by Marvin Hamlisch). Lamented as a lost treasure of the 1980’s theatre scene, Smile remains popular on high school and college campuses throughout the country. Ashman’s family is thrilled that Ashman and Menken’s original songs for Aladdin, some of which were cut in the making of the film – as well as portions of Ashman’s original film treatment – have been reinstated in the theatrical production. Howard Ashman died in 1991 from complications of AIDS.
TIM RICE - Lyrics
Tim Rice (Lyrics). Tim Rice – that’s Sir Tim to you – has been writing lyrics for musical theatre and related enterprises for more than 40 years. Patrol leader (Peewits), 1958. Credits includeJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita with Andrew Lloyd Webber; Aladdin, King David and Beauty and the Beast with Alan Menken; Chess with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson; and The Lion King and Aida with Elton John. He has won numerous awards along the way, usually for the wrong things or for simply turning up. His latest musical opened in London in 2013, based on James Jones’ great novel From Here to Eternity, with music by Stuart Brayson. He is currently working on a play about Machiavelli unless he’s in Australia watching cricket. Was quite a good swimmer. Loves the Everly Brothers and Bobby Vee.
CHAD BEGUELIN - Book, Lyrics
Chad Beguelin (Book, Lyrics). Chad is a two-time Tony® nominee for his work on the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer (Tony Award nomination for Best Book and Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics). He wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical Elf, which broke several box office records at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. His play Harborrecently premiered Off-Broadway at Primary Stages. Chad also wrote the book and lyrics forJudas & Me (NYMF Award for Excellence in Lyric Writing), The Rhythm Club (Signature Theater) and Wicked City (American Stage Company). He is the recipient of the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Awards, the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award and the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. Chad is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Dramatic Writing Program. Much love to Tom.
CASEY NICHOLAW - Director, Choreographer
Casey Nicholaw (Director, Choreographer). Currently represented on Broadway as co-director and choreographer of The Book of Mormon (2011 Tony®, Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle Awards as co-director with Trey Parker receiving the same nominations for choreography). Other Broadway credits as director/choreographer: Elf: The Musical; The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations); Monty Python’s Spamalot directed by Mike Nichols (2005 Tony, Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Choreography). Additional New York credits: for City Center Encores! – highly acclaimed productions of Anyone Can Whistleand Follies (direction/choreography), Bye Bye Birdie (choreography) and Can-Can (musical staging); for N.Y. Philharmonic – Candide; South Pacific at Carnegie Hall (also on PBS Great Performances), Sinatra: His Voice, His World, His Way at Radio City Music Hall. He directed and choreographed the world premieres of Minsky’s at Center Theater Group and Robin and the 7 Hoods at the Old Globe.