Providing news to the Central New York Theater Community

STANDARD DISCLAIMER

Remember, I'm not a reviewer just someone who likes theater and likes to write. Go see The Diviners and post a rebuttal.  - JW

by Jon Wright

While watching Appleseed's production of James Leonard, Jr’s, The Diviners I had reminiscent thoughts of the 1980 movie Ordinary People and while there is a fair amount of shoe discussion in the play, none of it revolves around the proper shoe color one should wear to a funeral. The Diviners is really more about lost and misguided people. It’s about a fire and brimstone preacher running away from his past, a troubled young boy both drawn to and terrified away from a symbol of his past. It’s about a father running away from the responsibility of his son’s cure and a misguided women running hell bent to the future.

A strong cast provided a tight convincing performance last night to a receptive crowd at the Atonement Stage. Four characters stand out. Navzad N. Dabu as the young boy Buddy Layman, his energy never wavers as he unfolds for us his unique relationship with water. It’s this relationship that provides the backbone plot for much of the shows interaction. Joe Pierce plays Pastor C.C. Showers, the former preacher who embraces an earnest desire to save Buddy not from the torment of Hell but from an earthly physical torment. Salvation that only comes by a familiar baptism. The show is stolen in the opening scenes by John Brackett as Ferris Layman, Buddy’s father and widower of Buddy’s mother. A perfect Midwestern drawl with a drop at the end of every sentence that makes you both wonder exactly what he said but at the same time you realize you heard it clearly. John supplements the voice with physical mannerisms that convey a man both hopeful and then broken by the sorrows of life. Katelyn Remington plays Jennie Mae Layman, Buddy’s tender hearted sister who provides a carnal temptation to the erstwhile preacher and allows us to see and feel his struggle with who and what he is.

The rest of the cast provides strong support in the colliding plot lines. Norma Henshaw (Karen Langston), Goldie Short (Rebecca Brown), Luella Bennet (Melissa A. DelGuercio) make up the good women of the town seeking to convince C.C. to return the pulpit. The town youth, Melvin Wilder (Brian Hensley) and Dewey Maples (Mark Frisina) along Darlene Henshaw (Jane Garlow) provide the angst of sin and evil for the aforementioned goodly town women. Doug Rougeux plays the ad hoc town doctor, Basil Bennett, a dispenser of common sense who reveals the selfishness of Ferris who has been avoiding the cure for his son Buddy. This revelation leads C.C. to ultimately bring Buddy to confront his fear and culminates in an ending that is haunting.

The Diviners is a great story in that it allows you to pick who you like and who you dislike. Maybe you find disdain for the over righteous Norma who tries to convince the Don Quixote-like preacher to return to his original quest. Maybe it’s C.C. who irritates as he ultimately and selfishly fails in his second chance to lead someone to salvation. Or is it Ferris as he fails to pickup where his beloved wife left off, nurturing his son with loving discipline.

The sparse black box stage and minimal use of props provides little distraction and allows us to see the dirt poor Indiana town through the eyes of the characters. Some lighting provides a back fill of thought as we all understand water is blue, grass is green and dirt is... I dunno... beige?

Go see The Diviners and pick your own villain.