Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold

The date is March 13, 2013. As an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest plays on a screen, shots ring out.

The date is January 7, 2013. Felix brushes his teeth and fake teeth. He can no longer afford the dentist who could adjust the fit of his fake teeth. Felix takes his frustration out on thoughts of Tony, who has Felix’s previous job. He resolves to “Wow them with wonder” and brag about it to Tony (10).

Felix used to direct “the lushest, the most awe-inspiring, the most inventive, the most numinous theatrical experiences ever” (11-12). Felix’s wife Natalie had died within their first year of marriage of a staph infection after childbirth. He raised his daughter, Miranda, on his own until she died at age three of meningitis.

Felix dealt with his grief by committing himself with obsessive zeal to his theater’s adaptation of The Tempest while Tony spearheaded the fundraising. Felix became overly obsessed with the play, which features a daughter character also named Miranda, and Tony took over some of Felix’s duties as he grieved.