Ding! Ding!

Let's cut to the chase--Desire is a weird name for a trolley. Lightning, sure. Sparky, Wheels and The Old-Timer? All acceptable. But Desire? Seriously, what was Tennessee Williams smoking? Nevertheless, his 1947 play, A Streetcar Named Desire, remains a classic to this day, while we've been shopping our soon-to-be-classic children's book, A Streetcar Named Sparky, for going on three years now. The late, great Jessica Tandy even won a Tony playing lead character Blanche DuBois, not to be confused with the tour-de-force performance of Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls. See the Contemporary Theatre of Dallas (5601 Sears St.) tackle Tennessee when they perform Streetcar at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays through August 31. Tickets are $27 to $32, with discounts for students and Golden Girls. Call 214-828-0094 or visit contemporarytheatreofdallas.com.
Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Aug. 7. Continues through Aug. 31, 2008