Danger at Seven Mile Bend

An epic river story and suspense thriller. If Mark Twain and Aaron Copland had gotten together to create an American river story for radio, it would probably sound something like this. Richard Thomas gives a memorable performance as river pilot Jeb Hardy, hired to deliver 15 barges and 40 million pounds of coal upriver on the Ohio to a power plant above Cincinnati. What begins as an idyllic rafting trip turns into a pilot’s worst nightmare, as the tow encounters a flash flood, a coal fire on the lead barge, and worst of all, a family of inexperienced motor boaters swept down river in the dark.

This highly produced program has been our most ambitious undertaking so far. It has a feature film feel to it, and a cast that includes river legends Capt. Edgar Allan Poe and John Hartford, as well as actors Stephen Russell, Annemarie Lang, David Wallace and Nicole Noel. The production includes awesome sound effects recorded on the river (including Cincinnati’s famous Singing Bridge before demolition). The fully orchestrated score by composer Mark Birmingham includes a stirring two minute overture.