The Diviners (play)

The Diviners is a play by Jim Leonard, Jr. It takes place in the fictional town of Zion, Indiana during the 1930s/Great Depression era. The play was originally developed with assistance from the American College Theatre Festival and originally performed by the Hanover College Theatre Group in 1980. The play later received its first professional production with the Circle Repertory Company in 1980.
Plot.
The story is set in the early days of the Depression in a small southern Indiana town named Zion. Buddy Layman is a mentally-challenged boy whose sweet nature touches most people he meets. The play begins and ends with elegies spoken by two of the townspeople (Basil Bennett, a local farmer; and his farmhand Dewey Maples) describing what happened the day of Buddy's tragedy. The body of the play is the memory of the time leading to this final climactic event. The action then jumps to back to the past, with Buddy searching (divining) for water for a well on Basil's farm. Luella, Basil's wife, refuses to believe that the boy can find water.
One day a stranger and retired preacher, C.C. Showers, passes through Zion looking for work and food. Ferris Layman, Buddy's father, offers C.C. a job, and he begins working as a mechanic in Ferris's garage. Showers takes an immediate liking to Buddy and vice versa. C.C. is able to relate to Buddy in ways that most people aren't. The two become close friends and C.C. soon finds himself as Buddy's mentor and teacher. Jennie Mae, Buddy's sister, is attracted to C.C., and though he likes her, their large age difference stops the relationship. 
The owner of the town's Dry Goods general store, Norma Henshaw, has her eye set on bringing an old-fashioned Christian revival to the community. The local diner owner, Goldie Short, would love to see the church rebuilt – and all the Sunday customers it would bring to her establishment. C.C.'s relationship with the people of the town changes drastically when they learn that he was a former preacher. This knowledge sets in motion a startling chain of events. Despite C.C. trying to tell Norma multiple times that he's done preaching for good, she is adamant that C.C. will rebuild the town church and bring back traditions of worship service and songs on Sundays and Wednesdays. 
She leads the town in singing hymns down at the river when C.C. tries to help cure Buddy of his aquaphobia and the ringworm that has gotten into his feet, believing that he is actually baptizing Buddy. While C.C. is trying to explain to the still singing townspeople that he isn't baptizing the boy, Buddy walks further downstream, and he is pulled under and drowns. The play is bookended by the funeral of Buddy Layman, with Basil and Dewey recounting their experiences in the aftermath of Buddy's death.
Soundtrack.
Because the play takes place in a religious town, much religious music is incorporated in the script and could be used as background music. Songs listed in the play include the following: