"Who Am I This Time?" is a short story written by

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

, published in the ''Saturday Evening Post'' in 1961. The story was collected in Vonnegut's anthology ''

Welcome to the Monkey House ''Welcome to the Monkey House'' is a collection of 25 short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, published by Delacorte in August 1968. The stories range from wartime epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge. Th ...

'', published in 1968. It was originally titled "My Name is Everyone".

Synopsis

The story centers on a character named Harry Nash, who is an extremely shy and characterless small-town man. However, whenever he takes a part in the local amateur theater production, he personifies the character to an overwhelming extent. Helene Shaw, a recent addition to the town and participant in the local play currently in production, falls in love—not with Nash, but with his character in the play.

Main characters

Harry Nash is a clerk at Miller's Hardware Store who acts in local amateur productions at the North Crawford Mask and Wig Club. He's known for his ability to completely personify a role, whatever it calls for. Before the story's timeline, his roles included Captain Queeg in '' The Caine Mutiny Court Martial'', Abe Lincoln in '' Abe Lincoln in Illinois'', the young architect in '' The Moon is Blue'',

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

in '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' and Doc in '' Come Back, Little Sheba''. He's also known for his intense shyness when he's out of character or without a script in front of him. When approached with a new role, he asks "Who am I this time?". In the story, he plays

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

's role in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. It's in this context that he meets Helene, who plays his wife on stage. He ultimately marries Helene. Helene Shaw works for a phone company and travels the country teaching local girls how to take care of the company's new billing machine. The director notices her beauty and persuades her to audition for a part in ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. Her initial audition falls flat as she seemingly has no passion to draw on. She confesses that she's never been in love but that she wants to be. It's not until she reads the script again, with Harry fully in character, that she's able to tap into the emotion necessary for the part. Over the course of the auditions, she falls in love with Harry's onstage persona. After the final performance, she gives him a copy of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' which they read from and, together, they take on the characters' personas. She stays in North Crawford, marries Harry a week later and they seem to be happy, depending on which play they're reading from that week. The short story is written from the unnamed director's point of view.

Adaptations

*The short story was made in a short television movie in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

starring

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

and directed by

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

. *In 2008 it was adapted into a radio play for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

starring Lou Hirsch,

Kerry Shale Kerry Shale (born 4 June 1952) is a Canadian actor based in London, England. His BBC Radio 4 comedy-drama ''The Kubrick Test'' was broadcast in 2020. He is the co-host of ''Is It Rolling, Bob? Talking Dylan'', a podcast about Bob Dylan ...

Joanne Froggatt Joanne Froggatt (; born 23 August 1980) is a British actress. From 2010 to 2015, she portrayed Anna Bates in the ITV period drama series ''Downton Abbey'', for which she received three Emmy nominations and won the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Be ...

and Maureen Lipman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Who Am I This Time? 1961 short stories Short stories adapted into films Short stories by Kurt Vonnegut Works originally published in The Saturday Evening Post