Northwest Theatre Presents "The Diviners"

by Sarah Ashley Smith-Hutchinson

Senatobia, MS (10/31/2025) — Northwest Mississippi Community College's Theatre Department presents "The Diviners" by Jim Leonard Jr. "The Diviners" will run two weekends in a row, starting in November with 7 p.m. showings on Nov. 7, 8, 14, and 15, and 2 p.m. showings on Nov. 9 and 16, and will be held in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Senatobia campus. This play follows a disturbed young man and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the peak of the early 1930s.

"When approaching this story, I kept returning to the things we all share as human beings: death, grief, faith, love, and family," said Theatre Instructor Kayla Manzolillo, who will be directing the production. "These are the forces that shape our lives - that break us, bind us, and ultimately help us understand ourselves and each other. This is a very challenging show to perform, but our students have displayed such a passion for telling this story and they have really given it their all during the rehearsal process."

Manzolillo said that she presented a quiet challenge to her students with her concept for the production, drawing from something she said she's always loved: old photographs. She said because of that, the entirety of the show is done with monochromatic sepia tones. She was excited to say that most of the show is set designed by students for this production.

"The Diviners" cast includes Noah Barnett as Buddy Layman, Olivia Callahan as Jennie Mae Layman, Jon-Albert Wooley as C.C. Showers, Jackson Kemp as Ferris Layman, Macie Fischer as Norma Henshaw, Anna Denton Landrum as Darlene Henshaw, Emma Youngblood as Luella Bennett, Alaya Turner as Goldie Short, Trenderrius Hollis as Melven Wilder, and Nathan Washington as Dewey Maples.

General admission tickets are $10 a person and student tickets are free with a valid Northwest ID and can be purchased at the door.