A young man's struggle to regain emotional and physical balance after losing his leg is the core of the new play, Siciliano, having its New York City premiere Nov. 11 at the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped (NTWH) Theatre.

Actor John Siciliano, who lost his right leg after he was hit by a drunk driver in 1995, wrote and stars in the drama, developed with playwright Erik Ehn and directed by Brother Rick Curry, founder of NTWH, a nonprofit training and performance group serving disabled folks with interest in the arts.

Previews played Nov. 4-6 and performances continue Nov. 11-Dec. 4 at the NTWH Theatre, 354 Broome Street, in Manhattan.

Siciliano, 28, first wrote the piece as a monologue in 1998 when he was an MFA candidate at the University of Southern California. Curry helped develop it into a larger play (bringing Ehn in) and characters of family, friends and medical personnel were added.

"The generosity that John brought to the play was enormous," said Curry. "He let us pick over his bones." The cast includes John Spalla as Mr. Siciliano, Krista Smith as Mrs. Siciliano, AJ Fitzgerald as John's sister, Joe Catalano as John's pal, Sean, and Katrian Kropa as John's nurse.

For ticket information, call (212) 941-9511.

The NTWH website is at www.ntwh.com.

-- By Kenneth Jones