A History of Quality in Comedy
May 1999: Strange Rx Productions produces its inaugural theatrical venture, The American Gallery, starring John Flannagan, Kalli Jonsson, Lena Mullins, Stacey Ross and Liam Vincent at Venue 9.
Summer 2000: Strange Rx produces King Lear for Theatre Bay Area's Shakespeare-a-thon. It features the talented cast of Kalli Jonsson, Sam Misner, Demetrius Martin, Christopher Jenkins, Margaret Schenck, Marie Shell, Mary Eaton Fairfield, Don Speziale, Lena Mullins, Reid Davis, Liam Vincent, Jenny Lord, Deirdre Ashby and the award winning, Ian McConnel.
Summer 2001: The American Gallery is produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
February 2002: Strange Rx creates its first short film, Auditioning for Fellini which confuses and angers many of its viewers.
November 2002: Strange Rx makes a decision to move its headquarters to the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles. A move that President and CEO, Richard Ciccarone, calls "visionary".
November 2003: In an even more visionary decision, Strange Rx relocates its headquarters back to San Francisco. An action that President and CEO, Richard Ciccarone, calls "financially necessary".
January 2005: Strange Rx produces Funny But Mean, an irreverent sketch comedy troupe the San Francisco Chronicle calls "A sketch comedy troupe". The company features performers from such diverse backgrounds as The California Shakespeare Theater, Beach Blanket Babylon and several regional incarceration units.
April 2006: After six successful shows in San Francisco, Strange Rx takes its talented child, Funny But Mean, to New York City to see if it's ready for the Great White Way. Their first, Funny But Mean Grows Up, was received by a sold out house on April 12th in Greenwich Village's historic Wings Theatre.
May 2006: Funny But Mean appears at both The Improv Cafe and the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre. The former as the part of an evening of comedy and the latter as a contestant in the Filthiest Sketch Competition with a sketch so eggregiously outside of the boundaries of decency that several of its members refuse to take part in performing the piece.
June 2006: Funny But Mean appears at Fred Willard and Friends, an evening of comedy to benefit The Abington Theatre. The group is joined by Fred and Mary Willard, The Upright Citizen's Brigade group, Mailer Daemon, and other illustrious improv groups.
November 2006: After nine months in New York, Funny But Mean returns to The Bay Area with Funny But Mean Goes To the Future to sold-out houses at the Exit Theatre.
January, 2007: Strange Rx produces it's first short video in conjunction with Funny But Mean entitled I, Roommate based upon a sketch from its November show.
May, 2007: Strange Rx and Pirate Cat Radio join forces to create The Lady and The Tramp radio program. To hear the podcast of any of our previous shows, select the link on our homepage.
September, 2007 Strange Rx and The Climate Theatre launch You Tubed, a variety show based solely on viral videos. On another note, Strange Rx and Pirate Cat Radio part ways after five months of "Radio so bad, it's on the radio" due to artistic and idiotic differences.
March, 2008 Funny But Mean remounts their successful February production Funny But Mean Gets Famous at San Francisco's Marine's Memorial Theatre to help raise money for The Water Project, a non-profit organization that builds wells in Africa.