Returning for the season are Wallace Acton (title role in Lorenzaccio), Dixie Carter (Mrs. Erlynne in Lady Windermere's Fan), Philip Goodwin (Prospero in The Tempest) and Kelly McGillis (Lady Macbeth in Macbeth).

Kahn will direct Macbeth Aug. 31-Oct. 24. Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses) will stage Pericles, about the hero who is tossed from coast to coast in a kind of adult fairytale, Nov. 9, 2004-Jan. 2, 2005. This is the first time the Shakespeare Theatre has staged the late-career play by Shakespeare (thought to be a collaboration by the Bard and others).

Lorenzaccio, directed by Kahn Jan. 18-March 5, 2005, is the little-known "gripping tale of political intrigue, moral dilemmas and individual heroism," according to the announcement. "De Musset centers the play on the complex character of Lorenzo de Medici, friend and cousin to the notorious Alexander de Medici, Duke of Florence. At the price of his moral and physical integrity, Lorenzo allies himself to the duke in order to kill him, hoping to liberate Florence from the duke's tyrannical rule. The Theatre presents the first professional production of the play in Washington with a world premiere translation by Washington playwright John Strand."

The Tempest, presented March 22-May 22, 2005, is another late play by Shakespeare. A director will be announced.

Shakespeare Theatre regular Keith Baxter directs Dixie Carter in Wilde's social comedy, Lady Windermere's Fan, June 7-July 31, 2005. Carter ("Designing Women," Master Class, Thoroughly Modern Millie) appeared in Shakespeare Theatre's A Woman of No Importance. The Shakespeare Theatre annually produces five plays in its 451-seat theatre in Washington, DC's Pennsylvania Quarter and one free play in Rock Creek Park's 3700-seat Carter Barron Amphitheatre.

Season subscriptions will go on sale in April. For more information, contact the box office at (202) 547-1122 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org.