COE Does Art Performs Deliciously Funny “Romeo and Harriet”

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Shakespeare will be deliciously funny with the help of a group of quarreling chorus members – Oregano, Antipasto, Pesto and Romano. The College of Engineering does Amateur Radical Theatre, known as COE does ART, will host their second dinner and a show with “Romeo and Harriet,” a comedic spin-off of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Romeo and Harriet” will be Nov. 30- Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in 126 H.M. Comer. The cost of attending is $8, and tickets can be purchased at the Ferguson Center Box Office the week before opening day and at the door. Dinner will consist of fried chicken, a choice of various sides, a roll and dessert. The production lasts two hours and includes an interactive intermission between the cast and guests. It is open to the public.

“Romeo and Harriet” is a comedic tragedy set in modern-day New York City where clerks of the upscale Montague’s department store and the run-down Capulet’s discount mart meet in the streets to antagonize one another.

“Everyone needs a good laugh,” said Samantha Smyth, a senior majoring in chemical engineering and president of COE does ART. “I know it is hard to escape everyday stress, but this show will allow everyone, especially students, to leave their stress at the door and have some fun.”

Smyth and Mary Kathryn Sewell, a senior majoring in chemical engineering and vice president of COE does ART, serve as founders of the organization and directors for the upcoming performance.

This is the second show created and directed by COE does ART. The organization presented “CLUE: The Musical” in April 2007. “We knew when we created this organization that we wanted to have at least one show each semester,” said Sewell. “Our goal this time is to provide our guests with a really good time because there is no doubt that ‘Romeo and Harriet’ will be bigger, better and funnier than ‘Clue.’”

Members of COE does ART and the “Romeo and Harriet” cast and crew include:

• Zach Burnett, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering
• Chase Davis, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering
• Tyler England, a freshman majoring in electrical and computer engineering
• Frances Green, a freshman majoring in civil engineering
• Victoria Grefer, a graduate student studying Spanish
• Dyanne Gunn, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering
• Taylor Hall, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering
• Jill Hoover, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering
• Andrew Huddleton, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering
• Elizabeth Junkin, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering
• Jon Lauer, a freshman majoring in chemical engineering
• Mary Kathryn Sewell, a senior majoring in chemical and biological engineering
• Samantha Smyth, a senior majoring in chemical engineering
• Thuong Vo, a senior majoring in electrical engineering
• Jennifer Wheelus, a senior majoring in aerospace engineering and mechanics

COE does ART, a student-led organization established in January 2007 at The University of Alabama, aims at disproving the stereotype that engineers are not capable of producing creative works of art.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and nearly 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.