AIN'T WE GOT FUN Noarlunga Theatre Company The Arts Centre Until 18 Nov 2006 Review by Simon Slade Welcome to "Tootsies," a 1920's speakeasy that is past its prime, as are some of its performers andnearly all of the costumes. Who will save "Tootsies" from the competition of other nightclubs? The audience for the show takes their places at the cabaret tables, and the show takes place aroundthem. The theatre has been transformed into a fine example of a cabaret nightclub from the 1920's. An original script, by Adelaide's own Sue Oldknow, it follows the tale of gangster Babyface Balconi, andTootsie Trallie. There are many familiar songs, and some not so well known ones from the era. Thescript is well done, but perhaps overdoes the pairing off of characters in Act II, but that is a minor point.Most of the writing is excellent, in particular the hilarious mixed metaphors used by Tootsie. Deb Kellaway as Tootsie, handles all of the complex dialogue very well. At times her voice was lost asshe tried to hold her breathless accent, but she had her character down perfectly. The excellent MaggieSmith is very funny as Rose O'Malley, the manager and surrogate mother to the dancers. Nicole Irving is delightful as the shy and yet mysterious Suzie, and John Martin, as Babyface Balconi,relishes his role as the gangster, and really works the audience in a couple of songs. Deirdre Quinn, asLulu Labelle, was just perfect. The cast vary in ability, particularly when it comes to the singing and dancing. The three singers usedas backing singers; Julie Oldknow, Alex Ling, and Sherilee Hawkins are very good, as are the featureddancers, Wendy Williams, Cherylene O'Brien, and Rebecca Millhouse. The costumes are very well done, adding colour and life to the cabaret scenes. The cabaret setting with the performance area spread around it poses a few problems for the show.The theatre's lighting resources are stretched, leaving some dead spots, and the performers struggle toproject their voices at some points. This is a difficult ask for anyone, and required a more experienceddirector than Terry Crowe, directing his first show. He has a future as a director, but needs to cut histeeth on shows with more conventional staging, before embarking on something this complex. A little more pace was needed in Act I, but by Act II, it had picked up considerably.