Hag-Seed: Chapter 32 Summary & Analysis

It’s the day of the performance, but first Felix has to give a “pre-battle speech.” He adjusts his magic garment and walks down the hallway, peeking inside the classroom where a bowl of grapes, each injected with the hypodermic needle, is waiting. In full costume, the cast waits for him in the classroom. 8Handz stands by the screen that hides all the technical equipment. The tense atmosphere is familiar from all the premieres that Felix has been a part of.

Encouragingly, Felix tells the actors that they’re ready for anything. His reminder that these politicians want to destroy the theater program is greeted with boos. Felix reiterates that “they think you’re a waste of time,” that “they want you to stay ignorant,” and that they think Shakespeare is irrelevant. However, if everything goes according to plan, they can avert the cancellation and put everything to rights. They’re going to show everyone that “theater is a powerful educational tool.”

Next, Felix goes over the instructions one last time. The sailors will escort the politicians into the room and serve refreshments. Sal and Lonnie must drink from blue cups, while Tony and Sebert will get green ones. Everyone else has clear cups. When the screen goes dark, everyone needs to insert their ear buds and put on their masks while TimEEz removes all the security alarms. If there’s any trouble, the alert is “scurvy monster.”

Anxiously, Bent Pencil says he hopes no one will get hurt, but Felix reassures him everything will be fine, as long as they don’t fight. He reminds the goblins not to use too much force, and sends everyone to their places: the dressing room is now Prospero’s cave, while one of the demonstration cells is decorated as Ferdinand’s prison, where Anne-Marie will “babysit” Frederick O’Nally. The actress wonders aloud if their treatment of the young man—who hasn’t done anything to hurt them—is ethical, but Felix brushes these concerns aside, reminding her that it’s his father who “crapped up your career.”

The other demonstration cell will be the “nap-time location” for Sal and Lonnie. Felix reminds the goblins how important it is that everyone is placed in the right room, and reassures them that security won’t know what’s going on. Admiringly, Leggs tells Felix that he’s a genius, but he modestly says that it’s Ariel, or 8Handz, who has facilitated everything. Wishing each other “merde” (the French word for “shit”) instead of luck, the cast bumps fists before the show begins.