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JAY OWENHOUSE – How Is That Tent Still There?

Costly, controversial magic production somehow survived a wave of protests and a sea of indifference. How much longer can it last?

UPDATE 5/5/24 – It appears that the magic is over for Jay Owenhouse. Ticketing for the creepy tent show has been yanked from the official website as well as Vegas.com, and a phone call went to voicemail during business hours. 

Jay Owenhouse may be many things, but “attentive student” isn’t one of them. The Montana-based illusionist, billed as the second-largest touring magician in the States, failed to pay attention in the summer of 2022. That’s when a friend, the controversial Dirk Arthur, tried to relaunch his famed “performing big cats” show. We covered the painful failure here.

Arthur passed away under troubling circumstances last October, reportedly a broken man. Scott Roeben’s Vital Vegas, now part of Casino.org, revealed that it may have been Jay Owenhouse who found Arthur’s body. The article, which you can read here, also brought a variety of eyebrow-raising suppositions to the table. Little of that is relevant to this report, aside from saying that the days of live animals in circus shows are over.

Nevertheless, Jay Owenhouse kept pushing to bring his tigers to the Las Vegas Strip. Residents, animal protection groups, and Clark County officials pushed back, and Owenhouse withdrew his request for a tiger permit. In January 2022, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the show would go on, minus animals.

CELESTIA at The STRAT 6/4/19

Fifteen months later, the Clark County Board of Commissioners approved Owenhouse to operate across from Mandalay Bay at the failed SkyVue Observation Wheel site. Up went a tent that looked identical to the one used by The STRAT‘s circus show CELESTIA. Owenhouse claims that it was shipped from Mexico.

2/13/24

The Owenhouse production opened during Thanksgiving week of last year. According to the magician’s official Facebook page, the show is set to run for one year. There’s been remarkably little hype about it, and as far as this writer is aware, no official media announcements or premiere gala.

One reader confided that two separate attempts to attend JAY OWNENHOUSE: The Authentic Illusionist were thwarted when performances were abruptly canceled. Originally scheduled to perform nightly at 6 pm and 8:30 pm, it’s been scaled back to one 7 pm showtime. Tickets previously started at $79 plus taxes/fees. A fourth category has since been added at $59.59 inclusive, but seats still go as high as a whopping $154.27.

VEGAS 411 attended the February 13th performance. The overall experience was, quite frankly, surreal and a little disconcerting. Parking is free, and you enter through a building that once served as the greeting area for the former CLOUD 9 balloon attraction.

The lobby includes a faux red carpet for photographs. However, it was silent and unoccupied, aside from two polite attendants at the front desk. This area opens up for ticket sales at 5 pm, according to exterior signage.

Exiting through the side of the building, you’ll walk outdoors and enter the first portion of the tent. To the right is a counter for snacks and drinks (no alcohol is served). It was unattended as we passed through. To the left is an area for post-show meet-and-greets, merchandise, and more photo opportunities.

Once you enter the heart of the Big Top, it’ll hit you….the smell. No, it’s not the unmistakable odor of circus animals, but gaseous fumes from a pair of cannon-like space heaters. This type of tent had an issue with climate control when it was used for CELESTIA, but that production never resorted to this awful approach.

The heaters are not only smelly but noisy. Combined with smoke and gasses caused by various show pyrotechnics, the fumes were severe enough for me to hold a jacket over my nose and mouth for a significant portion of the presentation.

Much of the massive tent is cordoned off, presumably for props and staging. What remains is a series of high-top tables facing a traditional proscenium stage. No drink service is offered during the performance, and photos/videos are prohibited.

A rolling countdown is shown on a screen above the stage, and the performance began at 7:05 pm. I counted forty-five people in attendance, give or take a few heads. Then Owenhouse appears via a fake elevator, and the seventy-minute show got underway.

As I mentioned above, watching the production is disconcerting. Why? Because its central figure is the most lifeless showman this writer has ever encountered. Nearly expressionless, slow-moving, and with a monotone delivery, Owenhouse speaks in the voice of a nature documentary narrator. Or as one companion put it, “A timeshare presentation”.

Attempts to hype up the crowd and tell jokes fell entirely flat. At one point, Owenhouse walked through the audience to speak directly to individuals. Again, I felt uncomfortable and was relieved that our table was spared. The guy is just….off.

Despite being the star, Jay exudes no charm, charisma, or physical presence to captivate your attention. Like them or hate them, his counterparts certainly do…it’s a must. Criss Angel boasts a goth persona, and David Goldrake possesses an eye-catching physique and exotic European accent. Mat Franco has a boyish charm, Copperfield drips with mysterious affectation, and Jen Kramer exudes giggly sweetness. Owenhouse comes across as a cult leader, minus the Kool-Aid.

As for the magic itself? Every single illusion has been seen in other, better magic shows. Every single one. Owenhouse will try to convince you that he’s created them by himself, but I believe that I’ve seen a few of the exact props in shows by Jan Rouven and Rick Thomas.

There’s the disappearing motorcycle that reappears from behind the audience (an obvious body double under a helmet). The cliched “sawing a lady in half’ is represented, as well as “folding a dollar bill and unfolding it into a different denomination”. Houdini’s “Jaws of Death” escape is performed by Jay’s son Peter. All familiar, none performed uniquely or memorably.

The production is described in Owenhouse’s social media as “Family Magic”, and the magician’s four children are featured in various roles. All are lovely to look at but share their Dad’s gift for expressionless emoting. Peter is the only one to take the microphone, and he too speaks in Papa’s monotone.

If it seems like I’m getting personal here…I am. Live performance is a very intimate thing, an experience shared among humans. JAY OWENHOUSE: The Authentic Illusionist seems like the creation of artificial intelligence and performed by a cast of “Stepford” people. You’ll be bored, possibly creeped out, and forget everything before returning home. You’ll probably feel ripped off, too…even if you get your tickets for free.

How this poorly-attended and poorly-received show has managed to last beyond a few weeks is anyone’s guess. One industry insider estimates that it may cost as much as $15,000.00 per week to rent the tent and space it sits on. Owenhouse reportedly paid to have the surface covered in asphalt before moving in. And I counted at least six staffers in addition to the cast. This production has to be bleeding enormous amounts of money.

I was also told that Owenhouse is independently wealthy, having gained a fortune by being at the top of a multi-level marketing program. That would explain his ability to afford this passion project…at least for a little while. But unless the star and his offspring don’t start demonstrating actual passion in their performances, there’s no way this production will last the full year. See it now if you’re so inclined, but don’t say that you weren’t warned.

JAY OWENHOUSE: The Authentic Illusionist performs nightly at 7 pm. Tickets start at $54 (plus taxes/fees) and can be ordered here. 

Photos by VEGAS 411, video by Jay Owenhouse via YouTube

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