If you met Rob Malissa at, say, a Wawa and talked to him for a few minutes, you’d probably come away with the impression that he’s a normal guy.

The 66-year-old lives in Yardley, has two grown kids and belongs to Congregation Kol Emet. He worked for decades as a civil engineer, helping to build highways, though he’s retired now.

But what wouldn’t be obvious unless he told you, or unless you looked him up online, would be that Malissa is a practicing magician.

He’s been giving “The Great Philadelphia Comedy Magic Walking Tour,” which uses historical landmarks in Old City to set up magic tricks, for five years. He also has a stage show called “A Case for Magic,” during which he presents his argument for his entertaining craft.

Malissa will perform this show at the Arden Theatre’s Hamilton Family Arts Center on July 2 and 3. This summer, he will also take to the stage at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, fulfilling a dream he’s held for 43 years, since he visited London as a backpacking post-grad.

“I don’t know what will happen at the Fringe, but something good could come out of it,” he said. “I think I just want to do my thing and put it out there in the world and see where it takes me.”

Malissa’s “thing,” of course, is not Jewish in nature, though Jewish communities are usually accepting and lighthearted about the craft of magic. But the Jewish community has nonetheless been a common thread throughout his magical journey.

Malissa had his light-bulb moment as a 10-year-old at a picnic with his synagogue community, Adath Tikvah-Montefiore, in Northeast Philadelphia. A fellow congregant, Sy Constantine, was a magician. During the picnic, the young Malissa wanted to participate in a game of horseshoes, but he couldn’t throw the horseshoe far enough. It was too heavy.

The little kid began to cry, prompting Constantine to walk over. He took a silk handkerchief and turned it into a cane. Malissa stopped crying. Everybody laughed. The kid’s eyes were wide open.

Malissa’s mother asked Constantine how a kid could get into magic, and he recommended some books at the library. But as Malissa grew older, he started following Constantine around to shows at the Police Athletic League and other locations. Sometimes, he would even come on and do a trick.

Constantine also got Malissa into the Houdini Club of Philadelphia when the mentee was 16, even though the minimum age for membership was 18. Malissa ended up launching his own touring show for birthday parties and other family-style gigs, something he did through high school before setting magic aside to focus on other aspects of his life.

“I raised a family. It kind of put the magic career on hold for a long time,” he said.

But as his kids grew older, Malissa got back into the craft. He performed restaurant shows for about seven years. Then, he started his stage show and performed at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and the New York City Fringe Festival.

About seven years ago, he also took a tour of Bath, England, in which a magician used the city as a prop for tricks. The tour gave Malissa the idea for his Old City tour. He started that around the time he retired, at age 62.

“I took this on full-time,” he said.

Malissa said the work is in line with his Jewish values.

“Sy was a guy that really just was joyous in his life, and he presented magic as a sharing of joy,” Malissa said. “That has always stayed with me. If you’re trying to share joy, it’s a wonderful tool. I think joy is a fundamental part of Judaism.”

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com