Art Hounds: Three plays for the holidays

This week on Art Hounds: "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Orphan Train" and "A Very Die Hard Christmas."

Vocalist and actor Paul Coate loves history, so he always enjoys taking in a show at the History Theatre in St. Paul. He's looking forward to seeing "Orphan Train," which tells the story of the tens of thousands of orphaned children who were shipped by rail from New York City to Midwest farm families in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The show features music and lyrics by local folk guitarist Charlie Maguire. Performances run through Dec. 18.

Twin Cities actor and director Zach Curtis is a big fan of "A Very Die Hard Christmas." The show takes the cult classic holiday action thriller and infuses it with characters and songs from just about every Christmas movie out there. From Bruce Willis to Burl Ives, Curtis says, "A Very Die Hard Christmas" is outrageous, hilarious and wicked fun to watch. Performances run through Dec. 17 at Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis.

Freelance theater director Lawrence Lee got a chance to see a preview of Duluth Playhouse's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and he recommends you get your tickets before they sell out. The Andrew Lloyd Weber musical uses everything from country music to calypso to tell the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis. And for this production, the role of the Pharaoh — usually portrayed as a send-up of Elvis — is a tribute to Prince. Performances run through Dec. 18.