Plot
The story is set in the early days of the Depression in the small town of Zion, Indiana. The play begins and ends with elegies spoken by two of the townspeople -- Basil Bennett and his farmhand Dewey Maples -- describing their perspective of the events that occurred the day of Buddy Layman's death. Buddy is a sweet and mentally challenged boy, resulting from a near-death experience in which he nearly drowned and was saved by his late mother. Because of this, he is severely aquaphobic and refuses to get anywhere near water under the belief that he is unable to breathe if he touches it, but can predict rain patterns and sense water from underground. The body of the play is a flashback of the time leading up to his death.
The first act begins after the first elegy, introducing us to Buddy as he searches (divines) for water for a well on Basil's farm. Luella, Basil's wife, refuses to believe that the boy can find water, but is disproven after Basil's farmhands, Melvin Wilder and Dewey Maples, find a vein in the precise area that Buddy directed them to. Once they leave, Buddy is set to sweeping the porch under the watch of his older sister, Jennie Mae.
Shortly after, Buddy sweeps into C.C. Showers -- a stranger passing through Zion in search of food and work. After a moment of skepticism, Jennie Mae goes to fetch Ferris Layman, her and Buddy's father, to discuss employment. It is during the in-between conversation with Showers and Buddy that the audience learns of Buddy's late mother and lack of understanding of death, as well as a hint of Showers' religious background.
Ferris, a mechanic, discusses job background with Showers, and Buddy is sent to walk around town with Showers' suitcases to keep him occupied. Showers purposely withholds his previous occupation from Ferris once it is found out that he has no background in mechanics, and only reveals that he used to be a preacher when he is about to leave. Immediately after, Buddy and Jennie Mae come back with Showers' now-empty suitcases, which prompts Ferris to offer him a job and a place to stay. From this point, C.C. works as a mechanic in Ferris' garage. Over the summer, Buddy and C.C. quickly become very close friends, connecting to each other in ways that others do not.
The owner of the town's Dry-Goods store, Norma Henshaw, quickly learns of the new "preacher" in town and sets herself on bringing a Christian revival to the community. This is supported by Goldie Short, the owner of the town's cafe, and eventually Luella Bennett, but her skepticism only lets this happen after a personal encounter with Showers. Showers' relationship with the townspeople becomes strained when they learn of his past, with constant and one-sided back-and-forthing over reviving traditional Christian ideals. Despite Showers' angry sermons of how he refuses to preach again, Norma remains adamant -- and deluded -- that the rebuilding of the burnt-down church will be at the hands of the ex-preacher, as well as the curing of Buddy's indisposition. Religious themes also cement themselves within Buddy, as he learns the fable of Noah's Ark from Darlene Henshaw, Norma's niece. This leads him to believe that God makes it rain because He is angry at him, and additionally, won't give his mother back because of it.
A very common theme within the show is Buddy's constant complaints of the itching on his feet, which is caused by ringworm due to his lack of bathing. It is explained by the townspeople that this ailment could be easily fixed by giving Buddy a bath -- which he proves heavily averse to. At the end of the first act, Showers and Jennie Mae manage to bathe him under the guise of the water and salt solution being "itch-juice"; however, this affliction comes back in the second act. Soon after, Basil explains to Showers that he has consistently told Ferris to wash Buddy in cold water throughout the summer, which causes an argument between the two and, although seeing his son in such distress greatly disturbs Ferris, the two agree to try to bathe him. This attempt greatly fails, as Ferris ends up letting Buddy run free in his anguish, causing him to get caught in a terrible storm.
Showers takes it upon himself to find Buddy, and when he does, he "teaches" him to breathe in rain, slightly ridding him of his fear. When Jennie Mae comes after them, Showers tells her to tell her father that he and the boy will be down to the river so that he can wash him. However, she mistakenly tells Norma where they are, and she takes this as a baptizing.
After Norma leads the townspeople to the river singing hymns, Showers shifts his attention away from Buddy in favor of pointlessly raging at the women about his not being a preacher. Buddy, believing that he can breathe in water, steps away from the shallow of the river and is pulled under. Showers is only made aware of this after hearing Jennie Mae's cries for her brother, and although he tries to save him, he fails, and the boy 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.
Beside the main storyline detailed above, there is a comedic side plot between farmhands Melvin and Dewey, as Dewey tries to romance Darlene, Norma's niece.
