Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 3 Alvin Ailey

March 6 - March 30, 2019 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2018-19 | 19 AUD : Disney has already released a live-action Beauty and the Beast , and there are live-action versions of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid in the works, too. What are some of the biggest di¡erences between writing songs for animated films and creating work for live-action movies or for stage musicals? AM : The dierences are slight. And they are generally specific to the medium. Animated films are generally G-rated and family-oriented. Thus, the song content adapts accordingly. The songs need to be accessible, entertaining, catchy, and emotionally involving. Plus, animation is a form that allows for unlimited imagination in action and imagery. Thus, the “fun” quotient is huge. Live-action movies are more grounded in physical reality. So, barring animated or CGI sequences, things are more reality based. The basics of time and place become more of a factor in song choices, aecting musical styles and lyric content. Stage musicals have no close-ups. So, songs become the close-ups. Thus, there are many more song moments usually. In addition, stage musicals generally reach out to a greater percentage of adults, given show times on Broadway. And there is an opportunity to dig a bit deeper into the emotional and textural underpinnings. AUD : Who is your personal favorite musical theatre or film score composer? AM : A few of my favorite musical theatre composers, considered chronologically, would be Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. Among film composers, a few favorites would be John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Alan Silvestri, Randy Newman, and Tom Newman. AUD : Is there anything you’re looking forward to doing when you’re in Chicago/do you have some favorite Chicago spots to visit? AM : I’m embarrassed to say that, other than attending or supporting my own musicals when they open here in Chicago, I have never actually visited the sites. That is clearly something I must amend and soon. Alan Menken performing A Whole New World of Alan Menken . Leonard Bernstein Alan Menken performs A Whole New World of Alan Menken at the Auditorium Theatre on March 30, 2019.