William Nicholson’s new play, The Retreat from Moscow, tells the dramatic story of a family in painful transition as an emotionally rigid husband (played by double-whammy Tony Award-winner John Lithgow) abandons his wife (Dame Eileen Atkins) for a younger woman, leaving his son (Ben Chaplin) to pick up the pieces.

Producer Stuart Thompson and Tony Award-winning direc-tor Daniel Sullivan have delivered a powerful vessel of insight and wisdom to the Broadway stage. Opening Night at the Booth Theater made such a lasting impression on The Sheet that we can’t refrain from highly recommending this power-ful drama. It ventures so deeply into the psyche that it’s bound to inspire anyone who appreciates honestly depicting the human condition.

At the opening-night party at Laura Belle, we were invited to sit with Tony and Heather Randall and Shubert prez Phil Smith and Tricia Walsh-Smith. We also caught up with the gifted playwright to chat about the groundwork for his play. He admitted that it was based on painful events that happened to him 25 years ago.

Wanting to know how the cast could dredge up such dif.cult emotions night after night, we asked John Lithgow, who said, “It’s easy, if the writing’s great enough.” Ben Chaplin revealed, “I choose something different to relate to every night, so I never know what it’s going to be. But there’s a lot in my personal life that I can draw from to get me into a deep emotional state.” He then added, “Acting in this play is a very cleansing experience.”