Since its creation five years ago, Mo'olelo Performing Arts has produced a series of plays about social, political and medical issues that tie into the San Diego community at large. None has been more relevant than the company's current show -- "Good Boys," a moving one-act drama about the repercussions of gun violence that mirrors a real-life tragedy that occurred in San Diego 14 years ago.

"Good Boys" is the fictional story of two fathers who are brought together by their shared pain. One father's son has killed the other's son, and both ultimately find healing in their shared forgiveness. That's strikingly similar to the true story of Tariq Khamisa, a 20-year-old San Diego pizza deliveryman who was shot and killed in 1995 by 14-year-old gang member Tony Hicks (who was tried as an adult and sent to prison). In the aftermath of the tragedy, Khamisa's father, Azim, contacted Hicks' grandfather, Ples Felix, and together they formed a foundation in Tariq's name that teaches nonviolence and gang alternatives in San Diego elementary and middle schools.

So as topical fare, "Good Boys" is local and timely, and as drama, Jane Martin's gripping, 90-minute play is intensely moving and cathartic. The play, in production through June 14 at the La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Forum Studio, should be a must-see for teens in at-risk areas. It offers a powerful lesson on the enduring shock waves that senseless gun violence can leave in its wake.

"Good Boys" takes place in a Florida park, where engineer James Erskine is quietly muttering over a solitary lunch of McNuggets and booze from a hip flask. He's soon joined by the affable black stranger Thomas Thurman, whose small talk about sports eventually turns to the purpose of his surprise visit. Thurman's son Marcus, a promising defensive back at an Arizona high school, was one of eight students murdered eight years before by Erskine's mentally disturbed son, Ethan, in a mass slaying that ended with Ethan's suicide.

In the intervening years, Erskine has lost his wife, his job, his home, his sobriety and his life savings to a series of class-action lawsuits brought by the victims' families, and media-hounding has propelled him on a cross-country odyssey.

And Thurman, a former pastor, has fallen away from his faith because he's unable to move past his grief and anger. For years, he has been tracking Erskine with the goal of confronting him -- Thurman believes Erskine covered up his son's homicidal tendencies -- to encourage a joint healing process through shared forgiveness.

Joining Thurman on his mission is his son, Corin, a teen whose long-suppressed rage over his brother's murder threatens to boil over into the same sort of senseless violence.

Interwoven throughout the play are flashbacks that paint a disturbing portrait of Ethan's escalating violent tendencies and the seemingly innocuous schoolyard bullying by Marcus Thurman that triggered the mass slaying.

While the play's conclusion is never in doubt and some of the plot points strain credulity, "Good Boys" has a real honesty to its characters and language, and an emotional climax that left many in the opening-night audience weeping.

Sueko's taut, economical direction keeps the focus on the relationship between the characters, and she keeps the dialogue crisp so the sad story never spills over into melodrama.

Robert Barry Fleming gives one of the best performances I've seen all year as Thomas Thurman. His portrayal of this good-hearted but righteously angry father is so true, it almost hurts to watch him thrash about in his grief. His warmth and tenderness contrast nicely with Mike Sears' aloof and icy performance as James Erskine, whose suspicion and fury over Thurman's ambush masks his very real guilt over his son's crimes.

Jeremy Lelliott is a whirligig of edgy energy as Ethan Erskine. He paints a character who submerges his loneliness and fears in false bravado, snarky comments and sociopathic viciousness. Johnny Ray Gill shows versatility as Corin Thurman, another "good boy" pushed to drastic action at the end of the play. And Sacha Allen completes the cast in the small role of the doomed Marcus Thurman.

Mo'olelo is completing a free, one-year residency at La Jolla Playhouse, which has included the benefit of the Playhouse's technical resources. This is shown best in Joe Huppert's exceptional sound design, which subtly re-creates the sounds of a park, gunfire and other atmospheric elements. David F. Weiner designed the parklike set and Jason Bieber created the haunting lighting. George Ye choreographed the fight scenes. The play runs 90 intermissionless minutes.

As part of Mo'olelo's outreach program, Sueko and her staff collaborated with students at Hoover High School in San Diego. Art students there studied "Good Boys" and artistically reflected their reactions in an altarlike sculpture that is on display at each performance. Showgoers are encouraged to interact with the art piece by writing about their own reactions to the story and the artwork.

"Good Boys"

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays; through June 14

Where: Mo'olelo in residence at La Jolla Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Forum Studio, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla

Tickets: $15-$18, previews; $27-$35, regular performances

Phone: 619-342-7395

Web: moolelo.net.