Blood From A Stone @ Theatre Row through February 5

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Ethan Hawke, Gordon Clapp, Ann Dowd, Thomas Guiry Natasha Lyonne and Daphne Rubin-Vega are tearing up Blood From A Stone, the new play from relatively new playwright Tommy Nohilly. Much too much family dysfunction to report here-and really why give away all the little goodies-it’s the things not said more than things done that fuels this kinetic long three act.

It’s hard to give praise here without giving away the plot, but Clapp’s Bill was the most interesting character for me, the NYPD Blue veteran invests in being the father of this wacky household with a roiling sense of menace that could have easily deteriorated into one note, but doesn’t. Hawke executes an admirable job keeping the play together with some interesting turns and a worn-out disposition that works pretty well for the most part. The women are especially strong here, though we see too little of Vega and Lyonne though Ann Dowd and Thomas Guiry do a lot with characters that are not as well drawn as Clapp’s or Hawke’s.

It’s an odd one-set stage and for the most part Scott Elliott makes good use of his blocking choices, though I would have preferred more moments on the couch center stage than stuck in corners as we were a lot of the night. A special nod though has got to go to Jeremy Chernick’s special effects (none of which I will ruin for you here), Jason Lyons’ lighting design, Derek McLane’s set and Bart Fasbender’s precise sound effects.

Blood From A Stone runs through February 5  at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre / 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th & 10th Aves). For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.TheNewGroup.org.

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