He has survived a plummet over Niagara Falls. He is the only person to successfully escape Alcatraz and to make the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience. Now, magician David Copperfield will attempt to sway some Penn State students' minds about the art of magic.

Tonight, Copperfield will return to Penn State to perform An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion at Eisenhower Auditorium for two shows.

"Copperfield's show is great family entertainment with lots of interest," Laura Sullivan, Penn State's Center for the Performing Arts spokeswoman, said. "He does an incredible and amazing show where you won't believe what you see."

While it is said that "seeing is believing," it is also rehearsing that makes the art of believing easier, Copperfield said in an e-mail message. Yet, rehearsing isn't necessary when you perform more than 500 shows a year, he said.

"With so many performances a year, rehearsals are only necessary when we introduced new illusions into the tour," Copperfield said. "It's the audience participation, the unexpected that keeps it all interesting and exciting and also provides some of the funniest moments of the evening."

While it is not known what illusions Copperfield will perform, students will get their money's worth, Sullivan said.

"There are a number of illusions that Copperfield plans to do on stage," she said. "It's a possibility that he will make students disappear and reappear in an unknown location."

Copperfield said growing up not too far away from State College in New Jersey is one of the reasons he has grown up a Penn State fan and is excited to return. However, he said his favorite reaction from college students to his shows is not the illusions he performs but his music.

"College audiences always tell me they love the selection of songs that accompanies many of the illusions in the show," Copperfield said. "It's kind of like MTV unplugged with an edge."

While Copperfield said his show is about making people's dreams come true, it also requires a lot of preparation from the staff at Eisenhower Auditorium.

Lea Asbell-Swanger, assistant director of the Center for Performing Arts, said there is some prep work that goes into hosting a show the size of Copperfield's.

"Because he is a magician, there are many things that we cannot tell about the performance," Asbell-Swanger said. "There is some prep work before the show -- like we'll be taking out some seats in the audience."

While the staff at Eisenhower has been preparing for Copperfield's performance for a few weeks now, Sullivan said she has been doing her part to help lower tickets for Penn State students. Subscribers to the Penn State Newswire were offered a $5 discount to the 9 p.m. show.

The earlier show at 6 p.m. is selling well with families and younger kids, while the 9 p.m. show seems to be more successful with Penn State students Sullivan said.

Students should not let their disbelief in magic keep them from attending the show.

"All the members of the audiences seem to fall into one of two groups," Copperfield said. "First, those that let themselves be carried away by the illusion and temporarily suspend their disbelief. The second group is those that insist on trying to figure out every illusion, long after the show has ended. I think college audiences are about evenly split."