The Diviners by jim Leonard, Jr

Performed by: Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Theatre Program of the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences

In the tiny town of Zion Indiana an idiot boy charms a preacher and teaches the town how to appreciate what they have. Although, the story lacks much depth, the story of a handicapped child with the supernatural ability to sense water, and is thusly destroyed by it, can teach us all to choose to understand our surrounding on a deeper level. The play starts out with Buddy laymen using a divining rod to help him find water. After finding water the protagonist C.C. Showers (played by an incredible Ben Cowhick) enters the scene. C.C. a semi in depth psychological character seeks to escape the life he had. In the town of Zion he attempts to work as a mechanic and is hired during the great depression even without any skills as a mechanic. C.C. is hired by the father of Buddy Laymen and Jennie Mae Laymen which suggests the family is not quite as bad off as the rest of the town and country. After it is discovered C.C. was a preacher from Kentucky the whole town goes in an uproar. Zion has been without many of the common luxuries of the day, they spend the majority of their time fixing bikes, digging ditches, hauling hay and praying before meals. The towns’ womenfolk imagine that with a preacher in their midst they may be able to get the one thing small towns seem to love the most: church.

The water allegory, while done millions of times in the past, is actually quite well done in this Metro production. The stage, a black box, pulls us all right in with its simplicity and small town feel. The movement of the characters in the final scene in cooperation with the elegant sounds, lighting and the large backdrop was extremely memorable. Although many of the characters may be forgotten the moment you leave the school, C.C. and Buddy are most assuredly going to touch the audience’s heart

A story to turn some heads and remind us all that our current economic times are nothing compared to the travesty felt during the Great Depression. We can all learn from C.C.’s abandonment of a job in which he did not enjoy, and his attempt to start over. While the playwright seems to want to warn us of the dangers in attempting to lead meaningful lives, he makes the point that if we don’t learn to control our environment it can destroy us.