John Lithgow Returns to Broadway in Retreat From Moscow Oct. 2003

By Andrew Gans
30 May 2003

John Lithgow
John Lithgow

Two-time Tony Award winner John Lithgow will return to Broadway in the fall.

A spokesperson for the production confirmed that Lithgow — last on Broadway in Sweet Smell of Success — will star in William Nicholson’s Retreat From Moscow, which began its life at England’s Chichester Festival in 2000. Eileen (Indiscretions) Atkins will star as Lithgow’s wife in the family drama, and 32-year-old British actor Ben (“The Truth About Cats and Dogs”) Chaplin will play their son. The play will open at the Booth Theatre Oct. 23 under the direction of Daniel (Proof) Sullivan.

Playwright William Nicholson began his career as a television producer of documentary films. He has since written for television, film and the stage. His plays include Shadowlands, Map of the Heart and Katherine Howard, and his films number “Sarafina,” “Nell,” “First Knight,” “Firelight” and “Gladiator.”

Stage and screen star John Lithgow won Tony Awards for his work in The Changing Room and last season’s short-lived musical Sweet Smell of Success. He also received Tony nominations for Requiem for a Heavyweight and M. Butterfly. Lithgow won three Emmy Awards for his work on the television sitcom “3rd Rock from the Sun,” and he garnered two Academy Award nominations for his performances in “The World According to Garp” and “Terms of Endearment.”