UA’s COE Does Art Presents ‘The Big Bad Musical’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – While engineers are commonly known for their problem-solving abilities, students of The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering Does Amateur Radical Theatre are taking their skills beyond the realm of math and science and applying them to theater in the howling comedy “The Big Bad Musical.”

COE Does ART will present “The Big Bad Musical,” a production about the trial of the Big Bad Wolf. Several characters, including Little Red Riding Hood, the Boy Who Cried Wolf and the Three Little Pigs, appear to provide testimony against the Wolf as the fuzzy lines between right and wrong are examined, in particular by the Evil Stepmother, who acts as the attorney of defense.

“The theme is really fun and entertaining, as it shows the Big Bad Wolf in a whole new light,” said Jill Hoover, dramatic director of the production and a junior in chemical engineering. “Many people think engineers can only do math and science, but we are breaking that stereotype through the realm of musical theater.”

Performances will be Friday, April 17, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 19, at 4 p.m. in 126 H.M. Comer. The cost of attending is $5, and tickets can be purchased from cast members or at the door. The production includes an interactive intermission between the cast and guests.

Members of the COE Does ART and “The Big Bad Musical” cast and crew include:

• Trent Beatty, a freshman in engineering from Bartlett, Tenn.
• Dave Dozier, a sophomore in chemical and biological engineering from Thomasville
• Frances Green, a sophomore in civil, construction and environmental engineering from Montgomery
• Andy Hains, a sophomore in electrical and computer engineering from Birmingham (35244)
• Jill Hoover, a junior in chemical and biological engineering from Tuscaloosa
• Elizabeth Junkin, a junior in chemical and biological engineering from Duncanville
• Chris King, a sophomore in aerospace engineering from Louisville, Ky.
• Jon Lauer, a junior in chemical and biological engineering from Madison
• Katy Middleton, a senior in chemical and biological engineering from Decatur
• Rachel Mitchell, a freshman in metallurgical and materials engineering from Tuscaloosa
• Katelyn Pate, a freshman in chemical and biological engineering from Coker
• Mary Kathryn Sewell, a chemical and biological engineering graduate student from Helena
• Tyler Weeks, a freshman in chemical and biological engineering from Mobile
• Nikki Wheelus, an aerospace engineering and mechanics graduate student from Northport

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, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.

Editor’s Note: A media screening is scheduled Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m. in H.M. Comer Hall, room 126.