ORANGE PARK – His comedy bits have become as popular as the number of Publix stores in Florida. In fact, he often talks about that on stage.
OMGItsWicks, along with Myke Herlihy and Ken Miller, will bring their family-friendly comedy acts to Thrasher-Horne Center on Saturday night at 8 p.m. OMGItsWicks, whose real name is Josh Robinson, lives in South Florida, and he bases his act on observations about all things Florida.
He has millions of social media followers, with “a voice as loud as a Florida thunderstorm,” according to his public relations team. He’s considered the unofficial spokesperson for the Sunshine State who makes light-hearted remarks about Florida’s critters, bugs, drivers and, of course, the number of Publix supermarkets, remarking there are a few spots where the grocery store has locations across the street from each other.
Anyone who’s driven on State Road 16 in St. Augustine in the Marabella area at International Golf Parkway can see a Publix on the southeast corner of the intersection and another one on the southwest corner.
His travel around the state have also been educational. He’s learned there’s a difference between Floridians in the Panhandle, South Florida, Central Florida and Northeast Florida.
“I’m down in Southwest Florida, so there’s a lot about North Florida and even North Central Florida that I never even knew about,” he said. “I’ve been learning about all of that and incorporating that into the content, so that we can include the full Florida and not just one part.
“We have pythons and monitor lizards and all kinds of crazy things just run around in the wild, you know, a lot of things that people don’t realize here.”
Bet he doesn’t know we have the Space Shuttle fuel tank sitting on the shore of the St. Johns River in Green Cove Springs.
“The one thing I can promise is you’re going to have a good time,” he said during a telephone interview. “We prioritize having a good time over anything else. And you don’t have to worry about it being vulgar or anything crazy happening.”
One of his reflections is a conversation with a non-Floridian who asks if a pond has an Alligator.
“Is it wet?” OMGItsWisks responded.
“Yes,” the visitor said.
“Then it has gators.”
Tickets, which start at $45, are available at the box office or at thcenter.org. And OMGItsWicks said everyone is invited to a meet and greet after the show. And unlike most acts, there’s no charge.
“It actually comes free with the actual cost of the ticket,” he said. “I don’t feel right charging people extra for anything. Them just coming to the show is good enough for me, and we do the meet and greet after every show.
“I also want to thank everybody, too. I like to take that opportunity to thank everyone that came out because it might seem like most performers don’t really care, but I know me, personally, taking time out of their day to come out, it means everything to me.”
Opening acts Miller was the winner of the 2013 Florida’s Funniest Comedian contest and the Steve Harvey Standup Spotlight winner, while Herlihy was the 2023 Florida’s Funniest Comedian winner.