State Champ Radio AIDS
Alan Menken is an EGOT winner, so he has enough awards to fill his shelves, and then some. But an award he’s receiving on Feb. 26 figures to be especially meaningful to him – the Howard Ashman Award, named after his longtime collaborator who died of AIDS in 1991.
The award will be presented at GMHC’s ninth annual Cabaret & Howard Ashman Award fundraising event, hosted by Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York City. (GMHC was founded in 1982 as Gay Men’s Health Crisis, though the organization used the acronym in a press release about his event.)
Menken and Ashman received their first Oscar nominations for best original song in 1987 for co-writing “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space” for Little Shop of Horrors. Less than a year later, in January 1988, Ashman was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.
He kept working until his death in March 1991. Menken and Ashman won the Oscar for best original song in March 1990 for “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid another in March 1992 for the exquisite title song from Beauty and the Beast. Ashman received seven Oscar nominations in all – four of them posthumously. That’s more posthumous nominations than anyone else in Oscar history.
Since Ashman’s death, Menken has two additional Oscars for best original song – for “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (which he co-wrote with Tim Rice) and “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas (which he co-wrote with Stephen Schwartz).
Schwartz will be at the Feb. 26 event to celebrate Menken, along with Claybourne Elder, Adam Jacobs and Arielle Jacobs. Kyle Branzel will be the music director.
Proceeds from the cabaret will directly support GMHC’s lifesaving programs for thousands of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Prior Ashman awardees are Lea DeLaria, André De Shields, the late Terrence McNally, Javier Muñoz, Kathy Najimy, Andrew Rannells, Michael Urie, and Tom Viola.
Ashman didn’t live to see the completion of Beauty and the Beast, which was released in November 1991. The film was dedicated to Ashman’s memory, and featured this message after the end credits: “To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice, and a beast his soul. We will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950-1991.”
For information on tickets, go here.
As Madonna continues her monthslong journey across the globe and back through her career with her Celebration Tour, pop icon Sir Elton John is ready to give the “Ray of Light” singer her flowers. In a post to his Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 26), John shared a photo from Madonna’s tour, showing the singer standing […]
Music icon Janet Jackson is set to headline this year’s World AIDS Day concert. The five-time Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee’s full-length show — in support of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) annual event benefiting HIV/AIDS awareness — will take place Dec. 1 at NRG Arena in Houston.
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Also joining Jackson at the event as a speaker will be Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe award-winning choreographer, director and producer Debbie Allen. In addition, AHF will present its lifetime achievement award to Emmy-winning actor and activist Blair Underwood.
Jackson’s upcoming performance follows the singer-songwriter’s most recent concert trek. The Together Again Tour borrowed its name from Jackson’s eighth No. 1 single. Released in 1997, “Together Again” marked her personal tribute to a friend she lost to AIDS and also to AIDS victims and their families worldwide. The tour went on to become the artist’s highest-grossing outing to date, earning $50.9 million according to Billboard Boxscore.
A staunch activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS over the last three decades, Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa to direct attention to the catastrophic impact the disease has had on families and children across the continent. The actor also joined actress Ashley Judd as a spokesperson for YouthAIDS in 2003. Since then, Underwood has been working in partnership with AHF, particularly in Washington, D.C. According to the foundation, the district houses the most HIV cases per capita which is nearly three times the national rate.
“I’m so honored to be receiving this gracious award by AHF,” said Underwood in a statement. “We have had a long-standing partnership in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and there is still more work to be done.”
Previous AHF World AIDS Day concert performers include Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and Diana Ross. Among advocates who have received the foundation’s lifetime achievement award are Harry Belafonte, Debbie Allen, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and, posthumously, Princess Diana.
Proceeds from the World AIDS Day concert will benefit HIV/AIDS awareness. Tickets will be available online through Ticketmaster beginning Monday, Oct. 16 (3 p.m. ET/noon PT).
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