Reindeer Games

Hamilton, Ohio – Familiar names. Familiar idea. Completely different from what the famous song indicates.

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati brings Reindeer Games to the Fitton Center for Creative Arts Friday, December 5, as part of the Fitton Family Fridays series.

When Dasher, Prancer and Comet – yes, three of Santa’s legendary flying reindeer - play games, they aren’t strapping on pads and helmets to play football. Instead, they host a game show.

And when reindeer play games, Colton Slade plays Comet, who serves as the show’s announcer. Dasher is the show host, while Prancer is the lovely assistant modeled after Vanna White.

“These reindeer have been all over the world,” Slade said. “So before they go out again for their big night with Santa, they decide, ‘Let’s all get together and share what we’ve seen with the kids.’ We do crazy accents, we ask trivia questions, we dance and we try to get the kids excited for the holidays.”

They bring audience members down from the seats to be game-show contestants. (Slade suggested kids wear their holiday best – ugly Christmas sweaters, green-and-red combinations, Santa hats and such - to help them get noticed before the show if they want to be part of the action.)

Slade grew up in Cincinnati and attended The School for Creative and Performing Arts, graduating earlier this year. This is his second season with TCT.

Slade recently performed in the ensemble of The Wizard of Oz, the inaugural TCT production in the newly renovated Emery Theater in Cincinnati. A $50 million facelift made the historic building one of the most technologically sophisticated theaters in the world.

Yet he said performing there isn’t that different than life on the road in local libraries and school gyms. Or venues like the Fitton Family Theater.

“It’s funny how similar they are, really,” Slade said. “We just try to make each other laugh and tell the story the best we can. Whether we have turntables and digital rainbows or a fabric backdrop we can fold up and put in our van, the connection with each other and with the audience is what makes it special.

“It’s a beautiful thing when we come to the kids and they have this look of pure love and magic in their eyes. Believing that magic exists, that they can see it in front of them, that’s amazing for us. It’s such a great thing to do, to inspire that idea that magic can exist in the world.”

In addition to the magic on stage, guests enjoy kid-friendly snacks and drinks in the ballroom before the show courtesy catering partner Two Women in a Kitchen. They also have opportunities to take family pictures in the photo booth and to make their own art in the Creation Station.

Tickets for Fitton Family Fridays are $9 for Fitton Center members, $11 for non-members, and are available online right here, by phone at 513-83-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office. (Fewer than 15 seats remain, so act quickly.)

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

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