Heartland drama is compelling

Tom Titus

Most of us don’t remember the Depression, but from tales passed down

from one generation to another, we know it was a time of extreme

privation, with people considering themselves fortunate if their job paid

them 70 or 80 cents a day.

Playwright Jim Leonard Jr. fixed on that period in American history to

set his haunting drama “The Diviners.” It’s the 1930s in Zion, Indiana, a

dirt-poor town with a population of 40, and the Depression is an

ever-present backdrop for Leonard’s engrossing, somewhat disturbing story

of hope and heart snuffed out by tragedy.

At Golden West College, where director Tom Amen is staging his third

production of “The Diviners,” his cast rises emphatically to the

occasion, particularly a young actor of limited experience who absolutely

dominates the stage as Buddy, a mentally handicapped youth who can sense

the presence of water -- in the ground or in an approaching rainstorm --

but has a pathological fear of the stuff.

This inner torment was triggered long ago when the boy’s mother

drowned while saving him from the same fate. The experience has left him

hyperkinetic and simple minded -- and filthy to the point of ringworm,

since he won’t abide water being applied to his itchy skin. He chatters

incessantly, always referring to himself in the third person.

This is an unusually demanding assignment, but Josh Matheson tackles

it like a seasoned veteran -- never mind that this is only his third

stage role. Matheson digs into the heart of this complex character in a

courageously riveting performance driven by near-demonic enthusiasm, and

his absolute terror of water is expertly depicted.

Into the boy’s confused existence comes an itinerant former preacher

-- who has shunned the ecclesiastical life but retains the compassion

that leads him to form a strong spiritual bond with the boy. Mark Bedard

excels in this character, steeped in goodness and morality to the point

he rejects the advances of the Buddy’s pretty 16-year-old sister and

devotes himself to the task of cleansing her brother.

Stephen Silva projects a calm, Midwestern authority as the lad’s

father, a fount of rustic wisdom. Christa Mathis beautifully interprets

his sister, whose youthful charm tests the ex-pastor’s moral fiber.

Brenda Kenworthy is quite believable as a Bible-thumping villager

striving to bring the onetime clergyman back to the collar.

Other performers amplify the roles of simple town folk, with Nicole

Fenker’s flirtatious young Darlene particularly effective as she seeks to

break from her overprotective mother. Bruce Alexander as a hardened

elder, Brenda L. Harris as his excitable wife, Necole Cordoba as a

peroxide-blonde waitress, David Snyder and Brett Chapin as farmhands --

the former an Army veteran imparting his worldly wisdom on his sidekick--

complete a richly atmospheric company.

Their stories have little or nothing to do with the central plot, but

they’re essential in establishing its background. Director Amen,

obviously attached to these simple, good-hearted people, has made each

individually memorable, to the benefit of the overall production.

Sigrid Wolf’s spare, open setting works perfectly as a unit set --

indoors or outdoors, depending on the circumstance, with chirping

crickets adding aural atmosphere. And her lighting designs, which include

lightning and rain effects, are crucial to the story, particularly the

horrifying climactic scene which, though discussed from the play’s very

first line, still comes as a shocker when it occurs.

“The Diviners” is a labor of love on all counts, and its plain-spoken

honesty will recall for many viewers a simpler, more compassionate era.

And Matheson’s spirited performance is in itself worth the price of

admission.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.

FYI

WHAT: “The Diviners”

WHERE: Golden West College Mainstage Theater

WHEN: Closing performances tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday

at 3 p.m.

COST: $8.50 - $10

PHONE: (714) 895-8150