Give yourself an unusual gift this holiday season – permission to take just a few minutes to think outside the box.

Look beyond old beliefs grown stale, outdated habits that restrict growth, definitions that no longer work. Allow yourself to wonder.

That is the message of “Greetings!”, Coastal Repertory Theatre’s current holiday production with a twist, running through Dec. 13. The production is delivered delightfully through brilliant writing, acting, staging and design that make Tom Dudzick’s play shine as much as any Christmas star. It becomes not only a memorable holiday treat but something to carry all year round.

Seated from left, Emily (Gina Guistino,) Randi (Christine Sliva) and Phil (Mark Drumm) grapple with the gentle profundity that Lucius '�” whom they knew as their son Mickey (Beau Brown) offers on Christmas Eve in '��Greetings!'��

The story is a simple one – on Christmas Eve, Andy Gorski (Dominic Falletti) brings new fiancée Randi Stein (Christine Sliva,) a warm but plain-spoken Jewish atheist, home to meet his devout Catholic parents (Gina Guistino, Mark Drumm) and mentally disabled brother Mickey (Beau Brown.) It’s also set up for laughs, and the witty script gets plenty of well-deserved ones.

But skilled playwright Dudzick soon heaps on layers: family dynamics, long-buried revelations and the upheavals that result when evidence upends beliefs once thought to be the only truths.

And a skilled cast capably, mesmerizingly handles all those nuances.

Brown, usually found at the light board at Coastal Rep, turns in stunning and sensitive performances as Mickey. Mickey is the younger, disabled brother, an adult with the mind of a child – and as Lucius, a mysterious, mystical entity who appears through Mickey. Fittingly named from the Latin word for “light,” Lucius announces that he has come to bring light to the troubled family – and proceeds to offer them something both simple and vastly profound. Brown easily juxtaposes the childlike, loving Mickey and old soul Lucius with an East Indian accent and a gentle, wise, compassionate chuckle. His appearance jangles but ultimately redeems the family.

Mark Drumm is exasperatingly loveable as grumpy dad Phil, from stoically aghast at Randi’s atheism to desperately flailing against what he sees as an attack on his faith. Drumm squeezes comedy out of the role but also pathos as a wistfully bewildered Phil struggles to define a new reality.

Guistino delights as motherly Emily Gorski, walking a tightrope as she tries to pacify Phil, welcome Randi and cope with Lucius. She and Brown have charming moments together.

Falletti is engrossing and sympathetic as Andy, caught between father, fiancée and his own questioning. Sliva is riveting as Randi, whose straightforward, plain-speaking persona conceals her own inner demons.

The entire cast works smoothly onstage, never dropping character even in silent moments and finding and showing subtle depths when character is revealed.

Set designer Paul Anable created a homey, Christmasy environment including a beautifully decked tree which lights stunningly at a penultimate, revealing moment.

Theatergoers will find a collection box in the lobby for Coastside Hope’s Adopt-a-Family holiday giving, a fitting aside to this production.

Bottom line: You won’t find Christmas magic and miracles while shopping – unless it’s to get tickets for this play.