COE Does ART Presents ‘Oh Horrors! It’s Murder!’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Looking for something a bit different to attend during The University of Alabama’s A-Day weekend? UA’s College of Engineering Does Amateur Radical Theatre will perform “Oh Horrors! It’s Murder!” during A-Day weekend this year. 

“Oh Horrors! It’s Murder!” is a musical mystery comedy. The mystery arises when a professor lecturing in a museum is found dead and a priceless Egyptian jewel goes missing after a brief power outage. 

Discovering the culprit’s identity involves speculation about curses and jealousy. Fun songs add to the humor with titles like “Take Your Cotton-Pickin’ Hands Off My Corpse.” 

“The great thing about this group is, because it is composed of mostly engineering students, we all understand that our schoolwork is challenging and time-consuming,” said Elizabeth Ann Junkin, a junior majoring in chemical and biological engineering and the group’s musical director. 

“As a result, we schedule our rehearsals so that they don’t interfere with our schoolwork, and so they don’t take up an extreme amount of time during our week.” 

COE Does ART gives engineering students the opportunity to display their talents in a way that might not otherwise be available. Many of the students have been so focused on academics throughout their school careers they have not had such an opportunity before. For these engineering students, they enjoy pursuing their talents, both in and out of the lab. 

“Overall, my favorite part about this group is that it serves as stress relief,” said Junkin. “During that two-hour rehearsal, you can forget about the homework and tests and just focus on the acting, singing and dancing.” 

Performances will be held Friday, April 16, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 18, at 2 p.m. in HM Comer room 126. The cost of attending is $5, and tickets can be purchased, in advance, by e-mailing coedoesart@gmail.com or at the door. 

Hannah Bigham, a sophomore in chemical engineering, is directing this semester’s production. 

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 more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.