Photos: First Look At LA Premiere Of Joe Dipietro’s CONSCIENCE At International City Theatre

The Los Angeles premiere of Tony Award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro's gripping political drama 'Conscience' begins previews Wednesday night at International City Theatre. Opening night is Friday, Aug. 28. Check out the photos!

Sharon Gardner stars as trailblazing Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, whose historic 1950 'Declaration of Conscience' made her the first senator to publicly rebuke Sen. Joseph McCarthy on the Senate floor. Jon Root takes on the role of Sen. McCarthy, with Dylan Wittrock as Smith's longtime personal aide, William Lewis, Jr., and Hollis Dohr as Jean Kerr, McCarthy's devoted young assistant who later became his wife.

Fast-paced and emotionally charged, Conscience explores political courage, personal conviction and the personal cost of speaking truth to power. It also highlights Smith's groundbreaking role as a woman in American politics. She was the first woman elected from Maine to Congress and later to the U.S. Senate and, in 1950, the only woman serving among the Senate's 96 members.

Performances run through Sept. 13. For more information go to InternationalCityTheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Jordan Gohara