Disney Legends - Howard Ashman — The Disney Classics

Music is a universal language that can speak to everyone. Lyrics can relate to hundreds of stories and provide several perspectives depending on how the listener applies them to their own lives. Disney’s songs have inspired generations, brought happy and sad tears, and have made an imprint on the film and music industries forever. Someone we have to thank for some of Disney’s most beloved songs of all time is playwright and lyricist, Howard Ashman.

Alan Menken and Howard Ashman accepting the award for Best Original Song for “Under the Sea” at the 62nd Academy Awards. Image from: https://gevajournal.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/ever-a-surprise-remembering-howard-ashman-part-3/

Howard ashman’s early career

Howard knew he wanted to be a part of the arts from an early age. He was a natural storyteller within his family, and was drawn to the performing arts after witnessing his mother thrive in her career as a singer. He joined the Children’s Theater Association where his passion grew and his knack for writing really began to develop. Poems and stories he would write as a young teen eventually grew into lyrics for songs and scripts for plays, and it was only a matter of time before Howard went to university to explore his love for theatre. He went to Indiana University for graduate school and received his Masters in Fine Arts in the early 1970s. One of Howard’s first metaphoric ties to Disney was the production of The Snow Queen he put on during his time earning his Masters. After this time, Howard moved to New York City to pursue writing and directing.

He quickly learned that it was going to take a lot of time and work to break into the theatre scene in New York without having many contacts or an upper hand, so in the meantime, Howard worked in publishing to fulfill his desires to write. This is when he was first officially introduced to Disney, when he was asked to edit the Mickey Mouse Club Scrapbook.

Howard had met his longtime partner Stuart White at a theatre program in the summer of 1969, and the pair had become inseparable as their love for each other and for theatre only grew as time went on. They both attended Indiana University, both moved to New York together, and then started their own theatre company, The WPA. They brought on their friend Kyle Renick as their managing director. Ashman produced 3 shows in 1977, Cause Maggie’s Afraid of the Dark, Dreamstuff, and The Confirmation. Around 1980, Howard and Stuart went their separate ways.

Howard Ashman visiting Disneyland. Image from: https://ew.com/movies/disney-plus-howard-ashman-documentary-preview/

alan menken and howard ashman meet

Howard had the great idea of adapting Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater into a musical. His friend Maury Yeston reached out to Alan Menken, an up and coming writer and composer, to see if he would collaborate with Howard on this adaptation. Alan was willing to try it out and meet Howard, and the duo bonded so quickly, and Howard truly began realizing how much he loved writing while Alan could compose the music for him. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater went over so well that Kurt Vonnegut even came to see the production.

Image from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMB47ZRi6Y8

“I was shy about writing lyrics and then I started writing them. Found out not only that I was fairly good at it, but mostly that I like writing lyrics better than anything else in the world.”

— Howard Ashman

He then went on to work on a musical adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors, based on the 1960 film. He was fascinated by bringing a monster story to the stage, especially from a film that was so uniquely itself. Alan worked with Howard again on the story and the music to make it more cohesive for the stage. It was an instant hit at the WPA, winning awards, garnering professional attention to Howard, and becoming a major staple in his career. Howard’s musical was then adapted into the 1986 film version of Little Shop of Horrors starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, who played Audrey at the WPA as well. This film brought Menken and Ashman their first Academy Award nominations.

The first company of Little Shop of Horrors at the WPA. Image from: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/theater/little-shop-of-horrors-40th-anniversary.html

the little mermaid

After Little Shop, Howard began his next venture into adapting yet another classic movie, titled Smile, working with established composer Marvin Hamlisch. During the auditioning process, Jodi Benson (née Marzorati), who would later go on to voice the character of Ariel, came in to join the cast of Smile. She sang a song written for the musical called “Disneyland”. After much back and forth with Broadway producers to get Smile on the big stage, Howard and Marvin persevered and saw their dream realized - only for it to be cancelled by critics and reviewers. This was a low point for him, but little did he know it would just be the start of a new journey for him: one with Disney.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, then chairman of the Walt Disney Studios in the mid-1980s, wrote to Howard asking him to come to L.A. to work on some upcoming projects. Some of the projects initially pitched to Howard was an animated film called Dufus, the potential sequel to Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid.

“The combination of Howard Ashman’s talent and the Walt Disney name is a home run waiting to happen.”

— Jeffrey Katzenberg

Howard was immediately drawn to the animation side of the studio, as the creativity, the life, and the curiosity that the writers and artists had was something familiar to him coming from a theatre background. He invited Alan along with him to begin work on the film that would start the Disney Renaissance period of films and put Disney back on the map: The Little Mermaid. His involvement in the film is heavily evident in his suggestion to make Sebastian Jamaican, the introduction of “want” songs for Disney beginning with “Part of Your World”, and his vote in the final design of Ursula. Howard also brought in Jodi Benson, who he had worked with on Smile, to audition for the role of Ariel. Howard felt most connected to “Poor Unfortunate Souls” as he found writing villainous songs so fun and was so proud of how it drives the plot forward so much in just a short amount of time. He was also extremely connected to “Part of Your World” which was initially going to be cut from the movie for being “too slow”, but Howard fought for it to stay in, which was one of the best decisions Disney has ever made. Howard was very proud of the outcome of The Little Mermaid.

beauty and the beast

After the huge triumphs The Little Mermaid made for the studio, when the idea of telling the story of Beauty and the Beast came up, Jeffrey Katzenberg immediately assigned Alan and Howard to the project because he knew they would be able to bring that element of magic to the story. It was Howard’s idea to have the opening number in the village be a musical sequence with the song “Belle”, in which he was nervous to pitch, but once again was a huge prosperous moment. He was a part of the recording of all the songs, from “Be Our Guest” and “The Mob Song” to “Beauty and the Beast”. The latter was another song he was very proud of and thought Angela Lansbury was the most perfect fit for Mrs. Potts.

aladdin

Howard and Alan also worked on the beginnings of Aladdin together, which was a full circle moment in Howard’s life, as he played Aladdin in a production when he was younger. They had come in with some of the most iconic Disney songs to ever grace the studio, ready to go for Aladdin, including “Friend Like Me”, “Prince Ali”, and “Arabian Nights”. Howard also worked through a song that didn’t make the final cut, called “Humiliate the Boy”, which was to be sung by Jafar during the climax of the story.

howard ashman’s legacy

In 1981, the HIV/AIDS epidemic began with rising concerns in this rapidly spreading and quick developing occurance. Around the time of the rising success of Little Shop of Horrors in the 1980s, Howard had found love in a new relationship with Bill Lauch, an aspiring architect in New York City. Their relationship grew quickly and they built their own home together with the profits Howard was making from the show. At the same time, Howard and his family received news that his previous romantic partner and artistic partner Stuart White was fighting for his life with HIV/AIDS.

In 1988, during the production of The Little Mermaid, Howard learned that he had also contracted HIV. His partner Bill was extremely distraught, but Howard was willing to move forward and take on whatever came to him. That same day, he went for an interview at the 92nd Street Y and acted like everything was okay. After each rehearsal and recording session of The Little Mermaid, Howard underwent medical treatments, and they continued throughout the rest of his Disney journey. Around the time of Beauty and the Beast, Howard had to tell his team at Disney, including Alan, what was going on in his personal life, as he didn’t have the energy to travel to make the films but wanted desperately to still be a part of it. Jeffrey agreed, and the studio accommodated him by bringing many of the processes to him in New York. This continued into the production of Aladdin, in which Howard and Alan wrote “Prince Ali” in the hospital when his condition escalated.

Howard passed away on March 14, 1991, without having ever seen the final version of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Beauty and the Beast had such a significance to the studio and drew parallels to the life he was living at the time, fearing the “beast” that would come with his growing disease. The film was dedicated in his honour.