First Comedy Magic Tour In Philadelphia Launches

Award-winning magician and native of Philadelphia, Robert Malissa, has launched Philadelphia's first Comedy Magic Tour. The truly unique city tour (there are only three magic walking tours in the world) combines historic and offbeat locations, theatrical presentations (including a card trick song to a tune from LES MISERABLES), audience participation, comedy, and jaw-dropping magic tricks performed just a few feet away from participants.

There are eight presentations in the tour, and each one is organic to a different street location. For example, in a spot close to Ben Franklin's house Malissa seemingly makes a coin penetrate a glass bottle in reference to the adage, "A penny saved is a penny earned," associated with Franklin. Malissa also performs a spirit writing demonstration in an alley ominously named Little Boys Court.

The walking tour is also highly interactive. In one mind-bending trick, participants are told about the street layout of Philadelphia as designed by William Penn and depicted in the pavement of the plaza at Welcome Park. Each person lines up on the first street and is told to advance forward to a new street every time they get a trivia question correct. The number of people on each street is counted, thereby generating a random number. A prediction in full view the entire time is found to match the randomly generated number!

Malissa spent two years walking around Philly to come up with the route, and another year working on the combination of tricks and presentations for the various locations. The first version of the Walk was part of the 2021 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. After the show, Malissa sent a survey monkey questionnaire to all participants asking them to rate each trick. Based on the responses, he identified the weaker material and upgraded the show. Encouraged by the high approval rating achieved by this early version, he ran the tour in 2022 and just restarted the tour which will run between May and October for 2023.

Each show is different because Malissa adapts it to the city's ever-changing panorama. For instance, one location often hosts wedding celebrations, and Malissa plays the "Here Comes the Bride" theme so tour participants can walk in time with the music as they approach the wedding party's photo shoot!

The inaugural tour is also providing a valuable opportunity to refine the show. Initially, Malissa found that transporting his props from one location to another across cobbled streets was challenging. "When I got to a site, instead of the props being within easy reach it looked like they had been in a blender - everything was mixed together," he says. Malissa solved the problem with version 2.0 of the cart he built for moving props.

So far, the show has been an unqualified success, affirming Malissa's instincts and passion for his unique blend of magic and comedy. "I don't believe in embarrassing anyone in the audience, as sometimes happens with comedians or magicians. Rather, I love to share the joy of the Art of Astonishment. Even though I present things in a comedic way, I leave space for that powerful feeling of amazement to come through," he explains.

Building camaraderie with his audience is also a core part of Malissa's approach to entertainment. He asks participants to bond during the 1.5 hour show as part of an exercise called "The Trust Leap of Death". The approach is clearly paying off. Malissa is getting lots of five-star reviews and comments like "The most fun I had during my trip to Philly," and will be expanding the number of dates for his Comedy Magic Walking Tour in the 2023 season.

Rob Malissa is a renowned magician in the Philadelphia area where he has been performing since the age of 10. He won the Philadelphia Houdini Club trophy, the Philadelphia version of the Stanley Cup for magic. The trophy was originally presented to the Club by Bess Houdini, the widow of the late Harry Houdini. Winners' names are etched into a plaque that is part of a book containing Houdini memorabilia. He tied for first place in close-up sleight of hand and was awarded 2nd place in stage magic at the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of American Magicians. Malissa has performed in numerous shows and festivals in the area including fringe festivals in both Philadelphia and New York city where he earned rave reviews. He will also be headlining at The Smoke and Mirrors Magic Theater on December 16th, 2023 in Huntingdon Valley, PA.

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