Mysterious Skin The New Conservatory Theatre Center 25 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco Ticket Info (415) 861-897 Lois Tema The world premiere production of the play Mysterious Skin, based on Scott Heim’s popular novel of the same name and adapted for the stage by Prince Gomolvilas, is pretty damn good. Although it is at times almost cringe-inducingly graphic, Gomolvilas’s keen script will challenge and surprise viewers. In this play about repressed memories, alien abduction, and child molestation, nothing is what you expect. Director Arturo Catricala maintains a somewhat frenetic pace throughout the first act; rapid-fire shifts in time and place are indicated with lighting changes and an ominous thunderclap sound effect. The second act is a bit more rewarding: The actors are allowed to slow down a bit, and they make the most of some effectively moving monologues. Taylor Valentine (right) brings the right mixture of naïveté, insecurity, and suppressed fury to the role of Brian, an 18-year-old in rural Kansas who’s seeking the truth behind mysterious events in his childhood. Joseph Parks (second from left) gives Neil, the New York hustler who may have the answers Brian is looking for, a gratifying depth. Rebecca M. Fisher (second from right) is Avalyn, Brian’s fragile—and touchingly bonkers—new friend, who may have been a victim of alien abduction. Megan Towle and Rich Dymer (left) round out the cast, each in a number of roles (Towle is especially delightful as Neil’s self-proclaimed “fag hag,” and Dymer has a firm grasp on roles that vary from a frustrated gay teenager to an expert on alien abductions). In terms of independent gay dramatic productions in San Francisco, “pretty damn good” is very high praise. Neither self-indulgently experimental nor yawningly trite, neither humorlessly ironic nor embarrassingly melodramatic, Mysterious Skin is a success. (Through June 28)  Charles Purdy