VOLUME 7 ISSUE 6
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Big milestones for Dory Funk Jr. Page B1 January 30 - February 5, 2026
GOP lawmakers OK minimum wage change
Campy classic blooms at The Civic
HB 221 is sponsored by Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview. By Jim Turner The News Service of Florida
Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview
After more than 20 years, Audrey II again takes root in Ocala with catchy tunes, dark humor and a fresh cast.
R mayhem is a sassy trio of street-smart urchins who narrate with Motown flair while the shop’s cranky owner and a host of colorful characters get pulled into escalating chaos. It’s a deliciously dark ride that mixes campy thrills with surprisingly heartfelt moments. Timothy C. Rodd makes his debut at The Civic, starring as Seymour. His credits include Archibald Proops in “Jekyll and Hyde,” Bun Foo in “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and the wizard in “Once Upon a Mattress” at Miami Children’s Theatre; Benny Southstreet in “Guys and Dolls” at the Coral Gables Youth Center in Miami; and Rapunzel’s prince in “Into the Woods” at The Art Center of Citrus County. Rodd described Seymour’s transformation in the show as more than a shift from a “nerdy florist” to a lead character. “To approach Seymour’s transformation, it’s helpful to see him as a character trapped in a Faustian bargain. His journey takes him from a person defined by inaction and insecurity to one consumed, and ultimately destroyed, by ambition and guilt,” Rodd said.
epublican lawmakers are trying to revive an effort to create an exemption to the state’s voterapproved minimum wage that would apply to workers classified as trainees. The GOP-controlled House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee on Jan. 28 voted 11-6 along party lines to approve a measure (HB 221) that would allow people to waive their rights to the minimum wage if they are in a work-study, internship or preapprenticeship program. Supporters said the state’s minimum wage, which will increase to $15 an hour in September, limits entry level jobs. “It cripples an employer’s ability to provide more opportunities for unskilled workers in areas of apprenticeship and education,” bill sponsor Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, said. When he filed the bill, Chamberlin wrote that the minimum wage “has become a weight on Florida’s economy and a hindrance to workers seeking to improve their personal finances.” “Wage controls are always enacted with good intentions but lead to a decrease in opportunities,” Chamberlin wrote. “We must seek alternative options like career development and continued education to ensure workers are receiving the skills needed to compete in today’s economy.”
See The Civic, page A3
See Minimum wage page A4
Timothy Rodd as Seymour Krelborn, left, and Patrick Stanley as Mr. Mushnik, right, rehearse a scene from “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Ocala Civic Theatre on Jan. 27, 2026. The play will be live on stage at The Civic through Feb. 15. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.
By Jamie Berube jamie@ocalagazette.com
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fter more than two decades, the infamous man-eating plant Audrey II is making a triumphant, tendril-waving return to the Ocala Civic Theatre stage, ready to sink its teeth into a fresh crop of theatergoers as part of the 75th season. According to Melody Murphy, director of marketing and public relations, it has been decades since the “Little Shop of Horrors” terrorized the local stage. “It’s been 20+ years since we did the show the last time and the time before that was the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, so if we have a few audience members who have seen both previous productions, it’s been long enough that this time around will feel very new and fresh,” Murphy said. Murphy said “Little Shop of Horrors” continues to resonate because of the distinct and offbeat world it creates, paired with the lasting popularity of the 1986 film adaptation. “It’s so incredibly specific in the bizarre universe it creates. People also remember the cult-classic 1986 movie version of the musical so fondly and the nostalgia is a
big factor in people wanting to see the live version on stage. The music is great, really catchy, the kind you’ll be humming for days, but you won’t mind. ‘Little Shop’ is just a fun show. Audrey II keeps reeling in new victims,” she said. OCT, also known as The Civic, brings the beloved cult musical” to life from Jan. 29 through Feb. 15 at its home at 4337 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. Directed by Rob A. Lott, with music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, this gleefully twisted tale unfolds in the gritty Skid Row of 1960s New York City, where catchy doo-wop harmonies, pitch-black humor and one very hungry houseplant collide in a story of love, ambition and the perils of getting what you wish for. In a rundown flower shop, meek, nerdy floral assistant Seymour Krelborn pines for his sweet coworker Audrey while dodging the wrath of her abusive, leather-clad dentist boyfriend. When a bizarre, solar-eclipseborn plant appears and starts growing at an alarming rate, Seymour names it Audrey II after his crush. What begins as a quirky discovery quickly turns sinister: the plant can talk, demands blood to thrive and has grand plans that go far beyond a bigger pot. Guiding the audience through the
Annual PIT count The HUD point in time assessment seeks to identify people living in shelters, outdoors and unsheltered in Ocala/Marion County. By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com
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here did you sleep on the night of Jan. 21? That’s one of the questions members
of the Ocala/ Marion County Joint Office on Homelessness Prevention and volunteers asked people who were lined up for the noon meal at the Brother’s Keeper soup kitchen in downtown Ocala on Jan. 22.
Point in time (PIT) count volunteer Heather Berry with Saving Mercy conducts a survey with a man waiting for the noon meal at the Brother’s Keeper soup kitchen on Jan. 22, during the second day of the 2026 HUD required survey, which is conducted locally by the Ocala/ Marion County Joint Office of Homelessness Prevention. [Photo by Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette]
The appeal for information was made during the second day of the annual Department of Housing and Urban Development required “PIT,” or point in time, count of people living within local shelters or outdoors and unsheltered. The PIT count seeks to find the number of people living in outreaches like the Salvation Army Center of Hope or outdoors in cars, camps or wherever they can find refuge throughout Marion County on one specific night. See PIT, page A2
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