Go Go Car Car Fly Fly

The Joker may have wondered where Batman got all his wonderful toys, but everybody knows the original king of grown-up gadgetry was James Bond. Self-destructing bags, tear gas disguised as talcum powder, ejector seats and built-in vehicular machine guns: These are a few of an international man of mystery’s favorite dangerous things, are they not? So it may seem surprising to learn that Bond creator Ian Fleming is also the writer behind children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang…until you realize that Chitty Chitty is about a flying car. Clearly, Fleming’s got some kind of elaborate adult-toy obsession. (We’re just glad it’s not that kind of adult-toy obsession. Chitty Chitty Bzzz Bzzz? I think I watched that last week on pay-per-view.) See for yourself how the classic flying car and its wacky inventor compare to Bond and his Aston Martin when Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes to town as part of the Dallas Summer Musicals series. Chitty Chitty runs Tuesday through July 5 at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Shows are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Special Fourth of July shows are at 1 and 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 to $71. Visit DallasSummerMusicals.org.

Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 23. Continues through July 5, 2009