By Matthew Wexler
Composer Alan Menken became the 16th person to achieve EGOT status on Sunday night, winning a Daytime Emmy Award for best original song in a children’s, young adult or animated program for Disney Channel’s Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. Eden Espinosa and Hudson D’Andrea performed the song “Waiting in the Wings” for the series, which Menken wrote with lyricist Glenn Slater.
Menken’s Broadway career dates back to 1994 when the stage adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (featuring lyrics by longtime writing partner Howard Ashman) opened in April of that year. Other Broadway highlights include The Little Mermaid, Sister Act, Newsies The Musical, Aladdin, and A Bronx Tale.
Menken’s far-reaching work for Disney has defined a generation of musicals, but it was his 1982 Off-Broadway collaboration with Ashman on Little Shop of Horrors that still resonates among theater fans.
Menken has won eight Oscars, 11 Grammy Awards, and a Tony Award. His latest Emmy win caps an illustrious career that has spanned theater, television and film.
.@AIMenken has joined the elite group of #EGOT winners with #RapunzelsTangledAdventure winning the 2020 @DaytimeEmmys award in Outstanding Original Song in a Children’s, Young Adult or Animated Program category. Congratulations! #DaytimeEmmys pic.twitter.com/tqVr0wU0RB
— Disney Channel PR (@DisneyChannelPR) July 27, 2020
