The Diviners
by Jim Leonard, Jim Leonard Jr

The Diviners Book Cover
The Diviners Cover

Highlights

1930s Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes American

Synopsis

Drama / 6m, 5f / Unit set w. platforms Winner of the American College Theatre Festival, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

When the boy was young he almost drowned.

This trauma and the loss of his mother in the same accident has left him deathly afraid of water.

The preacher, set on breaking away from a long line of Kentucky family preachers, is determined not to do what h

Press Reviews

"Compelling... The Diviners, which would be meritorious from anyone, is astounding from so young a writer... renders the humor and horror of the hinterlands with staggering accuracy."

— New York Magazine

"The playwright's warmth, humor and love for humanity permeate the drama, and make it both touching and entertaining."

— Variety

Characters

Character
BUDDY LAYMAN

An idiot-boy

JENNIE MAE LAYMAN

His sister

FERRIS LAYMAN

Their father, a mechanic

C.C. SHOWERS

A backsliding preacher

NORMA HENSHAW

Owner of the Hoosier Dry-Goods, a true believer

DARLENE HENSHAW

Her niece

GOLDIE SHORT

Owner of the Dine-Away-Cafe

BASIL BENNETT

A farmer, the local doctor of sorts

LUELLA BENNET

His wife, a doubter

MELVIN WILDER

A farmhand

DEWEY MAPLES

A young farmhand

Videos

The Diviners - Last Scene

Publication

Publisher Samuel French
Year 1983
Binding Paperback
Edition Revised
Pages 97
Place New York
Language English
ISBN-13 9780573608377
ISBN-10 0573608377
LCCN 83147583
LCC PS3562.E559 D5 1983
DCC 812/.54

The Diviners is a American play written by Jim Leonard and published by Samuel French in New York (1983).

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Performance Rights

Available for Licensing
Amateur Only
Fee: Minimum Fee: $130 per performance

Restrictions: Major Markets Only (US) / Standard Restriction (UK)

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