Drunk in Dido's Dollhouse

There are times in the theater when you feel that you might be witnessing a playwright working something out. Sometimes that’s thrilling because the depth of the playwright’s inquiry is exciting and maybe even revelatory. Other times, you feel like you’re stuck on a scavenger hunt and the playwright’s a bit lost. Dido of Idaho, Abby Rosebock’s play currently on stage at the Echo Theater Company, feels trapped in a search for tone. Our story revolves around Nora (remember that name), who’s an alcoholic music professor having an affair with her colleague Michael. Nora’s a mess. She’s convinced she’s unlovable and maybe close to rock bottom. She drinks too much. She lives in a dump. She hasn’t talked to her mom in years (even though she emails her daily). Michael is her way out — if only he’d leave his beauty queen wife. Sounds tragic right? Maybe even the stuff of myth? That’s where we start as the two illicit lovers debate the merits of Purcell’s aria for Dido, of Greek myth fame — after all, if you’re a drunk musicologist what could be sexier? Ms. Rosebock seems to be priming us for a take on the mythic queen of Carthage. The tone... dramatic, the undertones... tragic. As if to give us a self-conscious warning, the playwright has Michael, a writer, ask, “Would you keep an eye out for stereotypes of irrational women?” (It’s always telling what the writer's characters in the play ask for). What follows are several major tonal shifts that leave the whole thing a bit unmoored. Nora passes out in her lover’s house only to be roused by her lover’s beauty queen wife. They, of course, bond and begin to make cookies. There’s a bit of physical comedy that ends in more tragedy... maybe. Then, interspersed are scenes of Nora’s mom in a cabin in the woods as she begins to get more comfortable being a lesbian. The only thing that seems to unite all the female characters is they all have a very low estimation of men. I won’t spoil more of the plot but just say if you’re struggling to see the comparisons to the Dido myth, you're not alone. What’s maybe closer to the mark is hinted at by Nora’s name. She seems stuck in A Doll’s House looking for a noble exit but without any of the courage. Dido of Idaho doesn’t make an impact not because it keeps shifting tone, but because it can’t seem to commit to any of them and take responsibility. Things shift just when the real drama should begin. Once the plot points and reversals start coming quickly at the end, things feel increasingly untethered. On the surface, Dido of Idaho has the promise of the unexpected female protagonist — like many of the plays that have made up Echo Theater Company’s stellar work. However, this one never truly finds itself. Dido of Idaho plays at the Echo Theater Company in Atwater Village through August 26th.