They say if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb; but if it comes in like a lamb it goes out like a lion. If that is true, we should expect a roaring assemblage of plays later this spring, as this week’s list is looking rather ovine, with just four shows playing in Washtenaw this week.

Of course, having successfully made it through February (even with the extra day), we’ve not only got spring to look forward to, but a plethora of theater offerings heating up later this month. With daylight savings coming early this year it won’t be long before we’ll be dining al fresco right up until curtain time.

In the meantime, as we shiver through the coming days, at least there’s a variety of warm and wonderful theater out there to make winter’s last gasp more bearable.

Theater listings for the week

Show: "Weekend Comedy" by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick, through March 4
Company: Chelsea Area Players Dinner Theater
Type of Company: Community
Venue/location: Chelsea Community Hospital Dining Room, 775 South Main Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: The authors of such classics as “Norman, Is That You?”, “Murder at the Howard Johnsons” and “Wally's Café” bring you the tale of two couples who rent the same Catskills cabin for the same weekend by mistake. Mid-fifties couple Frank and Peggy have been married for many years and are very set in their ways. Frank is reluctant to leave home and worries about everything, especially his job in office supplies. Peggy is hoping the weekend getaway will inject some romance back into their marriage. Into the cabin walk Jill and Tony, a couple in their mid-twenties. It's late, no one wants to leave, and they end up sharing the cabin. Romance goes by the wayside as the two couples get to know each other and their differing views about life and work and relationships. Talk about a generation gap!
More information
Fun fact: In addition to writing for stage and television ("Captain Kangaroo," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Get Smart," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour") Sam Bobrick has also written songs which have been recorded by Elvis Presley, Brian Ferry, and Los Lobos.
For tickets and information: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/225611

Show: “If You Start a Fire [Be Prepared to Burn], an Internet sex comedy for the Recession Generation”, by Kevin Kautzman, through March 4
Company: The New Theatre Project
Type of Company: Professional Non-Equity
Venue/location: Mix Performance Space, 130 W. Michigan Ave., Ypsilanti
Recommended ages: 16+
Description: Lucy and Chris are typical American twenty-somethings struggling to survive the Great Recession with their dignity intact. They hate their jobs like most everybody else, but they need the insurance, and at least they have each other. Right? When Chris loses his job, he convinces Lucy they should launch a boutique sex website and sell the idea of her as an all-American girl next door, somehow both pure and hedonistic at the same time.
Article from Encore Michigan
Fun fact: Mix, a new and used clothing boutique that shares its space with the theater company, is open for business prior to all performances.
For tickets and information: Call or text 734-645-9776, www.thenewtheatreproject.org

Photo by Danna Segrest | courtesy of the Purple Rose Theatre Co.

Show: “A Stone Carver” by William Mastrosimone, through March 10
Company: Purple Rose Theatre Company
Type of Company: Professional Equity
Venue/location: Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park Street, Chelsea
Recommended ages: 13+
Description: “A Stone Carver” tells the story of a retired stonemason who clings to the past, and his son who refuses to look back. When Agostino, a seventh-generation stone carver is evicted from his home to make space for a highway, he barricades himself in his house, determined to outlast the bulldozers. In a last-ditch effort to save his father from jail, Agostino’s only son Raff, arrives at the house with his new fiancée. A battle of wills ensues, putting their already-rocky relationship to the test. Can Raff convince his father to move forward before it’s too late?
Review from Lansing City Pulse
Fun fact: "A Stone Carver" marks costume designer Shelby Newport's first production at the Purple Rose. She is the resident costume designer for the theater department at University of Michigan - Flint.
For tickets and information: www.purplerosetheatre.org or 734-433-7673

Show: “What Corbin Knew” by Jeffrey Hatcher, through March 14
Company: The Penny Seats Theatre Company
Type of Company: Equity Special Appearance Contract
Venue/location: Performance Network's Second Stage, 120 East Huron, Ann Arbor
Recommended ages: Adult (language, some mature themes)
Description: Corbin, an architect and affable fellow, invites two very different couples to join him for a show. Things go from uncomfortable and snarky to frenzied and violent and, by the end of the first act, someone gets shot. But Act Two turns the same events around, showing that what Corbin—and the audience—thought they knew is only half the story.
More information
Fun fact: The name of the company “The Penny Seats” comes from the term for the cheap seats (actually standing room) in the old Globe Theater. This fledgling Ann Arbor company is dedicated to keeping their ticket prices as low as a ticket to the movie theater.
For tickets and information: 734-663-0681, www.performancenetwork.org/index.php, or www.pennyseats.org
Special ticket offer: $10 per ticket for the entire run