Adam Jacobs, Celinde Schoenmaker & More Broadway and West End Stars to Perform at Gala Honoring Alan Menken

Stars from Broadway and West End will pay tribute to 8-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken on September 23rd with a concert and on September 24th with a concert and award ceremony where the acclaimed composer and songwriter will be honored with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award by the city of Vienna. Grammy-nominee Adam Jacobs (Aladdin, Broadway's Aladdin), Trevor Dion Nicholas(Dschinn, West End's Aladdin), Celinde Schoenmaker (Christine/ West End's Phantom of the Opera), Christine Allado (Tzipporah, Prince of Egypt West End) and Bongiwe Happiness Malugna (Rafiki/ The Lion KingJohannesburg, Shanghai and Hong Kong) lead the ensemble.

The program for the gala includes highlights of Alan Menken's career including, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Pocahontas.

"Alan Menken has received 20 Oscar nominations and has won more Academy Awards than any living artist," says Hollywood in Vienna founder Sandra Tomek about Menken receiving the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award. "Alan Menken wrote the melodies we listened to growing up from 'The Little Mermaid' to 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Aladdin'. And now our children listen to those melodies once again through Disney's live-action adaptations of those films. Alan wrote melodies that are known around the globe and are beloved by generations. This is an extraordinary accomplishment that needs to be honored with this award."

Alan Menken is best known for his unforgettable music for Disney movies like the Calypso beats of The Little Mermaid, the tale as old as time Beauty and the Beast, the Arabian nights of Aladdin, and the colors of the wind from Pocahontas just to name a few. Menken's career has spanned across nearly four decades composing and writing songs for both screen and stage. His work has graced over 100 television productions, over 70 films, and over a dozen Broadway shows including his first breakthrough with the 1982 hit Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, based on the 1960 film by Roger Corman of the same name.

"I am truly honored to be receiving the prestigious Max Steiner Award this year," says Alan Menken. "And I feel humbled to have my name and work associated with the brilliant and legendary Max Steiner himself. The way his creative life moved from theater to film to the concert stage, even as his personal life moved him from Austria to England, and from Broadway to Hollywood, is an inspiration for all of us who follow in his footsteps nearly 50 years after his passing. And to receive this award in Vienna, the classical music capitol of the world, promises to make this one of the highlights of my life and career."

The 13th Annual Hollywood in Vienna gala will take place on Sept 23, 2022 (concert only) and Sept 24, 2022 (concert and award show) at the Vienna Concert Hall (Wiener Konzerthaus). The Max Steiner Film Music Award is presented annually by the City of Vienna to the world's most renowned film music composers and is a symbol of recognition for exceptional achievements in the art of film music. Past awardees include Gabriel Yared (2019), Hans Zimmer (2018), Danny Elfman (2017), Alexander Desplay (2016), James Newton Howard (2015), Randy Newman (2014), James Horner (2013), Lalo Schifrin (2012), Alan Silvestri (2011), Howard Shore (2010), and John Barry (2009). Menken’s longtime music director, Michael Kosarin, will conduct the ORF Radio-Symphony Orchestra Vienna. 

Alan Menken's music, songs and scores have become an integral part of the fabric of our lives since his first works were produced nearly 40 years ago. His stage musicals include God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Atina: Evil Queen of the Galaxy, Real Life Funnies, Little Shop of Horrors, Kicks, The Dream on Royal Street, Beauty and The Beast, A Christmas Carol, Weird Romance, King David, The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Leap of Faith, Newsies, Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz , A Bronx Tale and Hercules. Song and score credits for film musicals include The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast (Animated), Newsies, Aladdin (Animated), Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, The Shaggy Dog, Home on the Range, Enchanted, Tangled, Mirror Mirror and Beauty and the Beast (Live Action), Howard and Aladdin (Live Action). Individual songs for film include Rocky V - "The Measure of a Man", Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - "My Christmas Tree", Life With Mikey - "Cold Enough to Snow", Noel - "Winter Light", Captain America: First Avenger - "Star Spangled Man" and Sausage Party - "The Great Beyond". Television credits include writing songs for Sesame Street, the ABC mini-series Lincoln, a musical episode of The Neighbors, the ABC series Galavant and the Disney Channel's Tangled: The Series. His chart-topping songs have included "Beauty and the Beast", "A Whole New World", "Colors of the Wind" and "Go the Distance". Winner of the 2012 Tony and Drama Desk awards for his score for Newsies, he has won more Academy Awards than any other living individual, including eight Oscars® with 4 for Best Score and 4 for Best Song; 11 Grammy® Awards (including Song of the Year for "A Whole New World"); 7 Golden Globes; London's Evening Standard Award; the Olivier Award; the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award. Other notable achievements include induction as a Member (2008) in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame followed by receiving the lifetime achievement acknowledgement of the Johnny Mercer Award (2017); Billboard's number one single ("A Whole New World") and number one album (Pocahontas). In 2001 he received the distinction of being named a Disney Legend. Awarded two doctorates in Fine Arts from New York University and the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 2010 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Recent live concert appearances include Hollywood Bowl, Segerstrom Center and Royal Albert Hall, Budokan, Osaka-jo Hall, Maihama Amphitheatre, Tuacahn and Chicago Auditorium. Upcoming: The Little Mermaid (Live-version) film, Spellbound animated film, Disenchanted live action/animated film and sequel to Enchanted.

Hollywood in Vienna was founded in 2007 by Sandra Tomek (Tomek Productions). The symphonic gala concert celebrates classic and current masterpieces of film music. During the course of the gala concert, the City of Vienna awards one of today's leading film music composers with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award. The Viennese composer Max Steiner belongs to the most influential pioneers in the history of Hollywood movies and scored all-time classics like King Kong, Gone with the Wind, and Casablanca. The award is meant to be a symbol of recognition for exceptional achievements in the art of film music.

For more information please visit: http://www.hollywoodinvienna.com/