Sis Carr wasn't one of those 1950s housewives who took care of the kids, fixed dinner and looked forward to the weekly bridge game on Saturday night. Nope, not Sis. Even her name vibrates with enthusiasm, which she has, and energy, which her friends and colleagues in Dallas arts groups say is boundless. While certain Dallas housewives ate bonbons in fuzzy slippers and watched the soaps, Carr volunteered to chair performing arts events or serve as a board member for TITAS, TACA, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth-Dallas Ballet (now Texas Ballet Theater), Dallas Theater Center and Dallas Symphony League. Now, Texas Ballet Theater is honoring Carr with a one-night-only sublime evening of dance on Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm St. TBT artistic director Ben Stevenson, a longtime friend of Carr's, created an evening of dance worthy of Carr's accomplishments. George Balanchine's Serenade, the "Moonbeams" pas de deux choreographed by Stevenson, L with TBT's male dancers and "Jitter Hoppin'," described as a funny, sexy piece set to big band/swing music. Regular people like you can blow Sis Carr a thank-you kiss and see the show; tickets are $16 to $95 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 972-647-5700. --Annabelle Massey Helber
The More the Merrier
1/25
No, ladies and gentlemen, Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti have not taken on seven young upstarts in order to appeal to a younger, hipper generation. As we all know, the Three Tenors are the shiznit. The Ten Tenors, on the other hand, are still looking for that kind of admiration, although they're taking a different approach. While the Ten Tenors do perform classical pieces--opera and the like--they also perform pop hits and medleys. As a matter of fact, their adventures in genre amalgamation earned them the "Best Artist Pop Meets Classics Award" by the Radio Hamburg Awards, as well as "The Variety Group of the Year Award" at the 29th Annual Australian Entertainment MO Awards. Not bad...for Aussies. Or as we like to call it, the land that prisoners adapted to. The Ten Tenors will be at the Majestic Theatre for eight shows from January 25 through January 30. Shows start at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets run $15 to $60 and are on sale now at the box office or any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 214-631-ARTS or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 20 or more, call 214-426-GROUP. --Jonathan Freeman
Electric Company
1/23
Electro-acoustic music is not when U2 unplugs their instruments for a "sensitive" moment onstage. It's music created electronically using new technology, samples, indistinguishable sounds and instruments recorded, then altered. During Electro-Acoustic Music of North Texas Composers, the Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Blvd., hosts several types of this genre--from pop to "acousmatique," in which sounds are "choreographed" to tell a story without words or visuals. Sounds arty; no wonder it takes place at a museum. It's 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call 214-768-2516. --Shannon Sutlief
Cookie Monster
1/21
Don't be generous with cookies, kids. Just don't do it. If you give others treats, they'll only want more. They'll bleed you dry and probably end up devouring all of your snack foods, moving on to larger foods such as muffins and pancakes. Because, as the story goes, "If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk." So says Dallas Children's Theater, which presents If You Give a Mouse a Cookie from January 21 through February 20 at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts, 5938 Skillman St. Tickets are $10 to $15. Call 214-740-0051. --Merritt Martin
Coming Home
1/20
Russia and the American South are very similar. They both have dirt, and plants, and air, and rain, and wind, and people, and animals. Sure, there are differences. But there are at least a few--albeit, basic--commonalties. Still, it doesn't seem like an obvious choice to take a "very Russian play"--dark, depressing, bleak, hopeless, lots of talk, little action--and adapt it into a Great Depression-era Southern America family drama. But to playwright Terry Martin, it just made sense. When he read Anton Chekhov's 1899 classic Uncle Vanya, he saw past the time and location to the family. And it looked, and acted, a lot like his Irish family back in Alabama. So Chekhov's play subtitled Scenes From Country Life became Martin's A Country Life, both with the premise that a retired professor comes home with his beautiful bride and disrupts the whole household, which includes his daughter from his first marriage. Chekhov's original is a comedy mistaken for a tragedy, and Martin's balances the melancholy with the mirth for what he calls "a Southern gothic 'comedy of manners.'" A Country Life makes its debut under the direction of Martin at WaterTower Theatre, where Martin serves as producing artistic director. It previews January 20, opens January 21 and runs through February 13 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays (except January 23). Preview tickets are $19 to $22. Opening night is $30, which includes a post-show reception at Antonio Ristorante. All other performances are $15 to $30. Student rush tickets are $7. WaterTower Theatre is in the Addison Theatre Centre at 15650 Addison Road. Call the box office at 972-450-6232. --Shannon Sutlief
