Photo Flash: In Rehearsal For Shakespeare Theatre Company's THE ORESTEIA

On Tuesday, March 12, Shakespeare Theatre Company's cast and creatives met for first rehearsal for ' The Oresteia by playwright Ellen McLaughlin and directed by Michael Kahn.

For his final production at Shakespeare Theatre Company(after 33 years, having overseen more than 160 shows and directed 65 of them), Michael Kahn wished to choose a work that is epic in scope and sentiment: The Oresteia. Playwright Ellen McLaughlin offers a fresh take on Aeschylus' trilogy in this newly commissioned adaptation.

Kahn has assembled some longtime STC artists for his grand finale including: Kelley Curran (Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2), STC Affiliated Artist Franchelle Stewart Dorn (Mourning Becomes Electra), Corey Allen (Macbeth), and Helen Carey (The Persians). Making debuts on the STC stage are Rad Pereira (Trojan Women), Josiah Bania (Ironbound), Zoë Sophia Garcia (Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra), Patrena Murray (Gloria: A Life), Sophia Skiles (Henry VI), Kati Brazda (Our Town), Jonathan Louis Dent (Church and State), Alvin Keith (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Simone Warren (Billy Elliot), and Kelcey Watson (Hollywood in the Hood).

"I've always wanted to do all of The Oresteia," Kahn explains. "When I was in college, we read the whole Oresteia, and I was completely fascinated by the story, by the form, by the relationships, by the incredible depths of what it was about-violence, revenge, and the search for human justice."

The play opens at Shakespeare Theatre Company on Tuesday, April 30 and runs until Sunday, June 2 at Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004.