After his last show at the Gaslight Theatre on Monday, magician Justin Willman plans to hit a Tucson bowling alley.
It's what he has done pretty much every time he has come to Tucson since his first Gaslight gig eight years ago.
He puts on a family-friendly magic show - he's a master of sleight of hand combined with one-liners and comic barbs - then rounds up the Gaslight crew - starting with General Manager Becky Gilmour - for a night at the lanes.
"I'm sure I can talk a few people from the office into coming as well. It's such a great stage crew there," said Willman, known best to Tucson audiences by his former stage name Justin Kredible. He ditched the name about a year ago, when his TV fortunes started to pick up with a couple hosting gigs on the Food Network.
Justin Kredible is "a great name for a magician, but not for a TV host," he said during a phone interview from Los Angeles last week. "For a magic show, people get it, but on TV people were like, 'Really?' I didn't want to be 50 years old with the name Justin Kredible."
Willman, 31, made his Tucson debut as a little known but emerging magician, opening for Gaslight's monthly "It's Magic Show."
"One of my friends in L.A. is Eric Buss (from Tucson) … who referred me. It was just like a guest spot so I probably did about 15 minutes," said Willman, who added as a sidenote that he had recently spoken with Buss and that the magician and his wife are expecting their first "baby Buss."
Willman said Gilmour was impressed that his show appealed to kids and adults alike, so she invited him back to do his own full show.
For a few years after that, Gilmour invited Willman back yearly - sometimes twice a year. He used the shows as an excuse to visit his grandparents who, until a couple years ago, lived in SaddleBrooke.
"The folks at the Gaslight have always made me feel at home. Tucson has really embraced me over the years," said Willman, whose last show here in mid-2007 came as his TV career was in its infancy. "It's a great family-friendly venue. I've really made a lot of good friends over the years."
Wilman's TV career has blossomed, going from regular spots on "The Rachael Ray Show" over the past six years into full-time hosting roles on Hub Network's "Scrabble Showdown" and Food Network's "Cupcake Wars," which pits bakers in the ultimate cupcake bake-off.
Little by little, Willman has worked his magic into the Food Network show.
"When I'm shouting out 'One hour left,' or something, depending on the theme of the episode, I'll make a soccer ball appear," he said. "I'll be working tricks in more and more. The cat's out of the bag with me being a magician so they definitely milk it."
Perhaps, you suggest, one of his tricks could be making the cupcakes disappear.
"Oh I do that, no problem. I'm really good at that. After we're done shooting, whichever cupcakes the judges like, I grab," he said.
Willman is quick to tell you that magic is still his first love and always will be.
"I will never give up magic," he said.
He gets a rush standing before an audience of wild-eyed, curious kids and their equally curious parents and making things appear and disappear. His shows are pure entertainment tailored by design for audiences of all ages.
"I'm just never the kind of guy to do something that you would feel uncomfortable with your kids hearing," he said. "But at the same time I want to do a show that I would want to see myself. So it's always a little edgy and there's always topical stuff in there that's intended to go right over the top of the kids' heads. My favorite kind of stuff is the Pixar movies and 'Shrek,' where it's stuff that you can bring your kids to but there's tons of little references that are really just for the adults."
"I love coming to the Gaslight," he added. "My magic is sleight of hand and it works great in that venue. It's small enough that you can get close to the audience. And the folks at the Gaslight and in Tucson have always embraced me over the years. I am excited to be coming back."
If you go
• What: Justin Willman, aka "Justin Kredible."
• When: 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Monday.
• Where: Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway.
• Tickets: $18, $16 students and military, $12 age 2 to 12.
