Pigeon Forge Magician Appears on Penn & Teller TV Show [Video Included!]
One of the most talented entertainers in the Smoky Mountains was recently featured on TV! Pigeon Forge magician Jessica Jane Peterson appeared on the August 3, 2017 episode of Penn & Teller: Fool Us on The CW. In this popular show, magicians from all around the world come to Las Vegas to try and stump legendary illusionists Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller with a trick that they can’t figure out.
Regular vacationers to the Smokies may recognize Peterson from her appearances at the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre and The Wonders of Magic. Read on to learn all about Jessica Jane and to see her primetime debut.
Watch Jessica Jane on Penn & Teller: Fool Us
In early 2017, Jessica Jane sent in an audition tape to Fool Us without expecting to get a call back, since the show receives thousands of submissions each year. Much to her surprise, the show’s producers loved her audition and invited her to be one of only 50 magicians to perform in front of Penn & Teller.
The show was filmed at Las Vegas’ Rio Hotel and Casino in March. You can watch Peterson’s performance in the video clip below. Please note that the music cuts out briefly from 1:17 – 1:48, but it is not necessary for enjoying the trick:
As you can see in the video, Jessica Jane was definitely a crowd favorite! Although Penn and Teller were able to figure out how Peterson’s trick was executed, Jillette praised the Pigeon Forge magician for her “incredible amount of confidence and grace and style”.
Magic in Her Blood
Jessica Jane was destined to become a magician. In an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Peterson explained, “I’ve literally been with magic since before I was born. My mom was a magician’s assistant when she was pregnant with me. My mom was getting sawed in half while she was pregnant with me. True story”.
Jessica Jane grew up in Franklinville, New Jersey and toured all around America with her family. Speaking about her childhood, Peterson told the New Sentinel, “I started out as a little kid sitting on trucks backstage waiting for my parents to finish the show…When I was 10 years old, they decided I was old enough to saw in half, and I started doing the saw in half illusion. And then I started doing my own magic, so they let me do my own bits in the show, and we performed anywhere from casinos to fairs and festivals to big theaters”.
At age 17, the day after graduating high school, Jessica Jane joined up with a circus sideshow and hit the road. It was during her time with the circus that Peterson learned how to eat fire, walk on broken glass, and escape from straight jackets. After years of traveling around the world with various shows, Jessica Jane moved to Pigeon Forge around 2009 and has been here ever since!
See Jessica Jane Peterson in Pigeon Forge
Jessica Jane currently performs with fellow Pigeon Forge magician Terry Evanswood in The Wonders of Magic at WonderWorks. When you buy tickets for the show through Visit My Smokies, you’ll save $2 and get free cancellation! To purchase your tickets, click the green box below:
