‘Diviners’ Revelation: A Depression Lesson

In the southern Indiana town of Zion, the people are searching for something to believe in as they wallow in the depths of the Great Depression. Some put their faith in a simple-minded boy, Buddy Layman (Jason Horst), who uses a Y-shaped willow branch to find water. Others search for signs of God in a one-time preacher, C.C. Showers (Eric Cazenave), a handsome man who wanders into town on a sunny day in 1933.

Jim Leonard Jr.’s 1980 play “The Diviners” is a gentle, homey piece. Under J. David Krassner’s direction at Theatre 40, it has the glow of a folkloric fable. The people’s misdirected goals and pursuits in a township of 40 are warmly characterized and richly felt.

The play begins at the end, with an old man (Sid Conrad) briefly recalling the day of a tragedy and one of his workmen (Joshua Schulman) remembering the horrible message he relayed to Buddy’s father, Ferris (Dan Peters).

The action then backtracks a few months, introducing us to a bright-eyed, dull-witted man-child who has “a touch and a feel for water.” Buddy can sense the flow of water underground or the coming rain, but he won’t bathe. He howls with fear when he feels water on his dirt-caked skin.

Jennie Mae (Ranjani Brow), his younger sister, is barely a woman, but she must act as her brother’s caretaker. She feels the blush of womanhood when she meets C.C. The former preacher is alienated both from Jennie Mae--who’s too young for him, he feels--and from the townsfolk who have long been without a preacher and see his coming as an act of Providence.

Horst glows with innocent enthusiasm, more a puppy than a man. Cazenave has the sureness of a more worldly man determined to help Buddy overcome his fears. Both are forced to confront their pasts, but Leonard doesn’t provide a tidy close to their inner conflicts.

This production has an understated elegance with Debra Garcia-Lockwood’s lighting design and George Cybulski’s simple platformed stage that resembles topography.

Leonard’s script has some minor historical problems. In the spring of 1933, Franklin Roosevelt was starting his first year as president, making references to Herbert Hoover seem oddly placed. But this is only a slight imperfection in an otherwise graceful tale.

BE THERE

“The Diviners,” Theatre 40, Beverly Hills High School campus, 241 Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 20. $15-$18. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.