Previews for the company's season opener began Oct. 22, and the show officially opened Nov. 7. The run at Theatre Row's Acorn Theater, originally scheduled through Dec. 15, now adds two weeks of performances "due to popular demand," as a release states.

Billed as "a dark comedy," Things We Want follows "three brothers living together and struggling to cope after the death of both of their parents," according to The New Group. "While facing their own personal obstacles, a drastic shift in dynamics occurs when a sexy young neighbor suddenly enters their lives."

The cast features Paul Dano (Inherit the Wind, "Little Miss Sunshine"), Peter Dinklage (Richard III, "The Station Agent"), Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and Josh Hamilton; the latter appeared with Hawke in The Coast of Utopia and Hurlyburly.

Hawke — who starred in The New Group's recent revival of David Rabe's Hurlyburly — directs the Sherman drama. A co-founder and artistic director of the New York City-based nonprofit theatre company Malaparte, he has previously directed the films "Straight to One," "Chelsea Walls" and "The Hottest State."

Playwright Sherman has also penned Serendipity and Serenity, Women and Wallace, Jesus on the Oil Tank, Sons and Fathers, Veins and Thumbtacks, Sophistry and Evolution. The design team for Things We Want includes Derek McLane (set), Mattie Ullrich (costumes), Jeff Croiter (lighting) and Daniel Baker (sound).

The New Group's new season will continue with artistic director Scott Elliott staging Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years featuring Natasha Lyonne and Richard Masur (starting Jan. 15, 2008) and Mark Brokaw staging Kevin Elyot's Mouth to Mouth (May 2008).

Tickets for Things We Want at The New Group at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street (between Ninth and Tenth Ave.), are on sale by calling (212) 279-4200. For more information visit thenewgroup.org.