Illustionist Jay Owenhouse Returns To Cheyenne Thursday Night

Jay Owenhouse fell in love with magic at the age of four when his mom hired a magician for his sister's birthday party. Five decades later, he's making magic with his own children.

"I don’t really remember much about the show he performed, but I remember feeling an incredible sense of wonder. From that moment on I was hooked," said the illusionist, who got his first book of magic tricks at eleven and has been thrilling audiences since high school.

Owenhouse returns to the Cheyenne Civic Center this week, performing with his daughters Christina and Juliana, sons John and Peter, and their Bengal tigers Sheena and Shekina.

"We've raised them all since they were babies," the master illusionist joked about his children and the tigers, who live on a sanctuary near the family's home in Bozeman, Mont. "I believe it is so important for people to get an opportunity to be around these magnificent animals. It changes their life and heightens their awareness of the plight that the tiger along with a lot of other animals are fighting."

"My family is definitely different," 11-year-old Christina Owenhouse admitted in the YouTube series Family Magic, which documented their return to the road after the death of their mother Susan in 2009.

"I think people are really inspired by the fact we work together as a family," Jay said. "I really rely on them".

Along with the tigers and his children, Owenhouse also pays homage to legendary escape artist Harry Houdini. In the '90s, he recreated several of Houdini's most famous stunts for the Fox television series Magic On The Edge and continues to honor the renowned illusionist at every show.

The performance will mark Owenhouse's second visit to Cheyenne. Tickets range in price from $33 to $73 and are available at the Civic Center Box Office and CheyenneEvents.org.