LA Weekly – RECOMMENDED – “Caught in Red Tape”

The seven comedians of Tomboys in Fishnets cap their evening of smart, snappy sketch comedy by stripping off their costumes and bouncing around in their skivvies and eponymous hose. I wolf-whistled along with the crowd — who doesn’t love cute girls in their underwear? But I also wished they’d have dropped the gimmick and slipped back into their polyester slacks, gang-color bandannas and ridiculous wigs to continue the show. They’ve put together a brainy crowd-pleaser that surmounts their hot chick-osity. Bureaucracy is the evening’s theme, and the 18 sketches riff on its myriad angles, as conceived by head writer, director and cast member Edie Magoun. In “PU,” the union gets called in after a Valley director has his, um, actress kneel for over 20 minutes without a cushion; two scenes later, “Emergency Room” takes a swipe at the gender biases in health care as a food-poisoning case gets shunted off to have a hysterectomy and a cancer patient’s insurance covers DD implants only. Enthusiastic performances, greyhound pacing and sharp writing elevate the obvious gags to bright bits that twinkle just enough before exiting stage left. Zephyr Theater, 7456 Melrose Ave., Hlywd.; Wed., 8:30 p.m.; thru Aug. 24. 2005  (Written 07/29/2005 (Amy Nicholson)