Hawke employs a starry cast — including Paul Dano, Peter Dinklage, Josh Hamilton and Zoe Kazan — for the new work, which kicks off the Off-Broadway troupe's 2007-2008 season. Opening Nov. 7 at Theatre Row's Acorn Theater, the run is scheduled through Dec. 15.

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," as show materials describe. "While facing their own personal obstacles, a drastic shift in dynamics occurs when a sexy young neighbor suddenly enters their lives."

The cast features Dano (Inherit the Wind, "Little Miss Sunshine"), Dinklage (Richard III, "The Station Agent"), Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and 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, Hawke 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) 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 9th & 10th Ave.), are on sale by calling (212) 279-4200. For more information visit thenewgroup.org.