VIDEO PROFILE: Remembering Howard Ashman On The 25th Anniversary Of His Passing
By: Michael Dale Mar. 14, 2016
His time on earth was only forty years, yet there's probably not a day that goes by without lyrics by Howard Ashman being sung on a Broadway stage, in a high school auditorium, at a late-night piano bar session or by a child just learning the joys of lifting your voice in song.
It was twenty-five years ago today, March 14th, 1991, that lyricist and playwright Howard Ashman joined the frightfully long list of artists who were among the unthinkable long list of lives taken by complications caused by AIDS.
This July, Encores! Off-Center will present a concert staging of his first musical collaboration with composer Alan Menken, GOD BLESS YOU, MR. ROSEWATER, based on the Kurt Vonnegut story. It didn't last very long Off-Broadway, but their next effort, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, is a modern day classic. Last year's Encores! Off-Center concert staging, starring Ellen Greene & Jake Gyllenhaal, was the hottest ticket in town.
His only Broadway entry while still alive, SMILE, had its problems, but none of the blame could be attached to the score he penned with Marvin Hamlisch. "Disneyland," introduced by Jodi Benson, is still a popular choice among cabaret artists.
Coincidentally, it was Disney that turned Ashman's fortunes around again. He and Alan Menken joined forces again for the beloved score of THE LITTLE MERMAID, winning them the Best Original Song Oscar for "Under The Sea."
Howard Ashman knew he was HIV positive the night he and his collaborator were honored with the Academy Award. His condition worsened during their next project, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Though he completed the score, he never got to see the finished film, which was dedicated to him. The pair's second Oscar, for the movie's title song, came posthumously for the lyricist.
Ashman only finished a handful of lyrics for the film ALADDIN. One of them, "Friend Like Me," currently stops the show eight times a week on Broadway and helped James Monroe Iglehart win a Best Supporting Actor Tony Award.
Learn more at howardashman.com.
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