Emma Thompson!

The people have spoken, and selected their winner, and the overwhelming choice for ULTIMATE TRAGIC HEROINE is none other than the lovely, brilliant, witty, delightful, we-all-want-to-be-her-best-friend-like-SO-BAD British thespian Emma Thompson.  You love her.  You love her so much more than you love Lady Macbeth, and you even love her more than you love Audrey Hepburn, which is a lot.

So.  First things first.  PRIZES! 

Congratulations to Mary Kreta of Fairbanks, AK, and Ross McKeen from Oregon Children’s Theatre, who correctly selected Emma Thompson as the winner on their mailed-in brackets.  Both of you win a pair of tickets to Petrouchka/Carmen in October and Giselle in February/March.  Congratulations and thanks for playing!

“But wait,” I hear you saying, “I may have picked the wrong winner but I still voted, played along at home, filled out a bracket, and/or had strong opinions!   Where’s my prize??”  People, people, people.  Would I let you down?  Of course not.  In addition to hopefully having had as much fun with this as I did, you also win a SUPER-SPECIAL TICKET DEAL.  For one week only, you can buy a Carmen/Giselle mini-subscription package starting at just $46 (handling charges not included) to see both our heroic Team Captains dance their hearts out onstage, accompanied by the fabulous OBT Orchestra.  This special Thursday night package includes a ticket to both shows (October 13,2011 for Petrouchka/Carmen and Thursday, March 1, 2012 for Giselle), and because we love you, you’re getting access to the best available seats for those nights 2 MONTHS IN ADVANCE of the general public.  You’re welcome!

“How do I get this sweet deal?”  Check the OBT Facebook page first thing Monday morning for the link!

“My sister/husband/cousin/coworker/next-door neighbor didn’t play the game but wants to come see the shows with me.  Is that okay?”  Absolutely.  This deal is open to everyone so spread the word, bring a group, tell your friends, etc.

“Why was Lady Macbeth in the History bracket when she’s technically fictional?”  Don’t ask.

“But I want to know!”  Fine.  Because I had to bump Lois Lane and Catwoman from “Pop Culture” to “Literature” to make room for Audrey Hepburn and Joan Crawford, after I bumped THEM from “Film” to accommodate the Disney girls.  That left the “Literature” bracket full, but I still had one open slot in “History”, so –

“You are long past the point at which I stopped caring.”  I told you not to ask.

“Is there any chance you have a bunch more photos of Emma Thompson receiving various awards that you would like to share with us?”  Why YES.

Can we please discuss how, during Week One’s epic Team Carmen juggernaut, it seemed completely impossible that Team Giselle would mount a credible showing?  I was so nervous that they were all going to get swept out to sea within minutes and the whole rest of the game would be All Carmen All The Time.  But no!  Emma held on mightily, and neither Audrey’s elegance nor Lady Macbeth’s venom could distract her from her end goal.

Now.  If we’re being honest with ourselves here, Emma Thompson herself is far from “tragic.”  In fact, I think many of us would lean towards characterizing her as “badass” or “totally awesome.”  Initially we were voting on Emma’s character in The Remains of the Day, but the love for Emma was so strong from the voting populace that it gradually shifted towards being a vote for Emma herself.  And Oregon Ballet Theatre LOVES EMMA THOMPSON.  The staff loves her.  Our blog commenters love her.  Our Facebook fans love her.  Everybody loves her.  Particularly in comparison to the diabolical Lady M, who, as many commenters rightly pointed out, goes crazy and dies at the end of the play, whereas Emma is talented, capable, practical, intelligent, unflappable, and much more able to keep her head in a crisis.  Which makes her, perhaps, a less accurate “tragic heroine,” but certainly a great deal more like someone we all want to be friends with in real life.  (Also, it was mentioned more than once, a day will probably come when Emma Thompson will play Lady Macbeth, which I believe is what people who use those type of words refer to as “synergy.”)

When I told the staff earlier today that it looked likely that she was going to win, Donor & Board Relations Manager Emily Tucker’s exact words were, “So good really DOES win out over evil!”  Also, and I don’t want to name names, but a certain Marketing Director Trisha Mead I know, in addition to several others, who had been solidly Team Carmen all the way and were heavily rooting for Lady Macbeth, changed horses midstream and voted for Emma.  She got a LOT of love on the blog and Facebook, with commenters saying things like:

–“Emma FTW! (Her Beatrice in Much Ado is still one of her best roles.)”

–“Wry, lovely and English won out against bloodthirsty and Scottish. Which doesn’t often happen to me.” 

–“Lady M’s fatal flaw is that she can’t stand the pressure and eventually cracks. Doesn’t even get to enjoy being queen. So, although I’ve been a bad girl supporter all along, I’m going to have to cast my vote for Emma.”

–“I’m gonna have to go with Emma. She would no-nonsense her way right through Lady M.’s bull-pooey. Emma’s the one. That’s just the way it is.”

  Yep.

Well, that’s all, folks!  Thanks for playing the Tragic Heroine Throwdown!  Got ideas for other contests and games, or other suggestions for heroines and femme fatales we left off the list but should include if we do this again?  Want to share your thoughts on our winner, Emma?  Weigh in below!