BWW Reviews: THE DIVINERS - An Exacting Test of Heroic Patience

The Diviners/by Jim Leonard, Jr./directed by Mark Henderson/Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre/thru November 23, 2014

In The Diviners, multi-award winning playwright Jim Leonard, Jr. definitively succeeds in explicitly depicting the tragic affects of caring for Buddy, a mentally disturbed boy with a gift for divining water. As smartly directed by Mark Henderson, the audience uncomfortably experiences every agonizing moment with Buddy's sister and father as they cope with Buddy's disillusions and outbursts of temper, in real time, in this just over two-hour production.

Kudos to Michael Beck for his total commitment and heart-breaking portrayal of Buddy, the boy whose mom drowned right next to him years ago. Now, totally unhinged in dealing with reality, the perpetually unwashed Buddy has an extreme case of hydro-phobia, a tendency to refer to himself in the third person, and a psychic gift of foreseeing the weather.

The Diviners, set in the early 1930s in a mythical Indiana town, opens with its conclusion and then rewinds to recount the events leading to Buddy's demise. Even though Henderson keeps the pacing between scenes at a fast clip, many times overlapping incoming entrances with outgoing exits; this production lags in spots. With the seriousness of Buddy's episodes repeatedly exhibited and with the appending finale a foregone conclusion; the proceedings get weighed down. No laughing matter here.

Recap begins with the arrival of a stranger to town, C.C. Showers, a former preacher looking to start a new life. Clay Bunker nails the bland all-goodness of a man of god with genuine caring compassion for the conflicted Buddy. C.C.'s so perfectly good and understanding he has no reaction to Buddy emptying and tossing away his meager earthly possessions from his two suitcases. C.C.'s non-reaction stirred my suspicions that maybe C.C. might be planning a con on the unsuspecting townsfolk. Any hints of anything sinister were completely dropped, as C.C. receives open arms from all. Nothing like the deliciously dangerous out-of-towner in William Inge's Picnic.

Buddy's teenage sister Jennie Mae and mechanic father Ferris both have the patience of saints in handling the tantrums and fits that Buddy erupts at all times of the day and night. Ivy Beech and David Atkinson imbue their respective fully-developed characters with such empathy and heroic patience. Beech charms in her interrupted innocence of a teenage girl attracted to a man/boy for possibly her first time. Atkinson deftly hides his three-dimensional empathy and sensitivity beneath his gruff mechanic's exterior. One can easily recognize his anguish in still missing his deceased wife.

Also having their moments to shine on stage: Tim Farmer, strong as Basil, a struggling farmer, friend of Ferris, and happy beneficiary of Buddy's weather wisdom. John McKetta and Nathan Lee Burkart, as Basil's easily distracted, but endearing farmhands, bring welcomed shots of energy in their semi-comic relief characters. Effective, though not sketched out as fully, the townsfolk women; Tracy Bunka as coffee shop proprietor Goldie, Maria Cominis as Basil's wife Luella, Deborah Marlowe as dry goods store owner Norma, and Maurie Speed as Norma's niece hot-to-trot Darlene.

High props to sound designer David Marling and light designer Bill Kickbush for their stunning, STUNNING effects of the climatic drowning scene! A low horizontal band of moving lights appears downstage to depict the moving waves of the river. When Beck and Bunker get caught underwater, the sound effects of the echoing water is heard. Beck and Bunker meticulously go through slow-motion choreographed movements drowning/swimming underwater. When one runs out of air, they pop up above the water to breathe. At those instances, the river lighting and the sound effects stop as they're now above water; then timely begin again when they go back beneath. Brilliant effects! Props also to the clean, efficient, minimal set on the raked stage by Sets To Go (director Henderson and actor Farmer).

Intense and well-done, but most definitely not a fun evening out!

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