Howard Ashman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1950. After studying at Goddard College, he earned his MFA from Indiana University, then moved to New York, where he began a career in publishing.
Following his lifelong passion for theater, Ashman next co-founded the Workshop of the Players Art Foundation, Inc., an off Broadway theater.
It was at the WPA that Ashman would begin to collaborate with composer Alan Menken, who remained his music partner throughout his future years at Disney.
The two first created a successful musical adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, which opened in 1979.