Higher Ground

Higher Ground

When first presented to sell-out crowds in 2006, Higher Ground in Harlan County, an original community play developed in response to the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Eastern Kentucky, was celebrated widely for its innovative approach to a pervasive regional problem. A new KET production uses cast interviews and performance excerpts to explore how music and drama brought people in Harlan together to talk about the life-and-death challenge facing the community.

"Finding Higher Ground," which kicks off a new season of the KET arts documentary series Kentucky Muse, premieres Thursday, Jan. 8 at 10/9 p.m. CT on KET1.

Cast members Carolyn Sundy, Donell Busroe, Bennie Massey, Tara Smith and executive producer Robert Gipe, among others, discuss their roles in the play, their first-hand accounts of the drug epidemic in their county and the sense of community they gained from participating in the production.

Meanwhile, the songs and scenes of Higher Ground dramatize stories straight from the headlines in Harlan. Bluegrass bands Kentucky Rain and Mountain Drive help out, performing some of the mixture of traditional and original songs.

This season of Kentucky Muse also includes "Fire and Motion," a look at the vibrant glasswork of Stephen Rolfe Powell and the intricate automata sculpture of Steve Armstrong, premiering Jan. 22, and "Mountain Born: The Jean Ritchie Story," an encore presentation of a 1996 KET production about the remarkable life of folk legend Jean Ritchie, premiering Jan. 15 .

Kentucky Muse "Finding Higher Ground" is a KET production, produced by Guy Mendes. Teresa Day is series producer. Nancy Carpenter is executive producer. More information about Kentucky Muse is available at www.ket.org/muse.