By Sue Arrowsmith, Pig Iron

Philadelphia-based Pig Iron Theatre Company will take South Florida by storm for the first time with their OBIE-winning quirky melodrama Chekhov Lizardbrain at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Mar. 23 – 24, at the Colony Theater in Miami Beach, 1040 Lincoln Road.

Presented by Miami Dade College’s (MDC) MDC Live! Performing Arts Series, Chekhov Lizardbrain is a unique blend of neuroscience and maladroit Russian tragicomedy, complete with top hats, long johns and curly mustaches. The neurosis – and lizard-like behavior – unravels as a lonely botanist returns to his hometown to visit his brothers and the house where he grew up. He begins to conjure up unsettling and comic recollections in an attempt to shape his fractured memories into a comforting fiction.

“It’s exciting to continue our successful 2011-12 season with Pig Iron’s Chekhov Lizardbrain,” said MDC Live! Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “We are committed to bringing alluring, thought-provoking artists to South Florida, and Pig Iron is no exception!”

Pig Iron’s virtuosic ensemble spins a dizzying and poignant web of memory, vaudeville and hysterical antics, inspired in part by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Other influences include Temple Grandin, a noted autistic author and doctor of animal science, and neurobiologist Paul D. MacLean.

Founded in 1994, Pig Iron has earned national acclaim, including a nod by The New York Times, which praised them as “One of the few groups successfully taking theater in new directions.”

MDC Live! is an initiative of MDC’s Cultural Affairs department with a 20-year legacy of bringing unique, diverse performances from around the world to South Florida. Behind the scenes, the Series provides master classes by visiting artists, an essential component of Miami Dade College’s mission to not only present the best in the arts, but also foster future artists and audiences through meaningful educational experiences. Learn more about MDC Live! at www.mdc.edu/arts.

Tickets are $30 for the general public; $20 for non-MDC students and seniors and $10 for MDC students, faculty and staff. Must show valid identification for student and senior tickets.

To purchase tickets, and more information about the 2011-2012 MDC Live season, please call 305-237-3010, or visit www.mdc.edu/mdclive