“Making God Laugh,” Steel Beam’s current production, by all means, is not a comedy. To be sure, there are very funny lines aplenty, but a more apt genre would be a family “dramedy.”

Oak Park playwright Sean Grennan has crafted a two-act, four-scene play that follows an American Catholic family over the course of 30 years of holidays, beginning with Thanksgiving 1980 and ending with 2010. (Transitions cleverly are shown with music, hair styles and costumes.) Rituals are trotted out, past tensions flare up as empty nesters Bill and Ruthie welcome their three adult children (a priest, an aspiring actress and an ex-football star) home. There are plenty of exits and entrances and a few plot twists and turns – two are imminently predictable and one an unresolved surprise. It all can be an emotional roller-coaster ride. This family clearly loves each other, but, at times, perhaps don’t like each other. A familiar conundrum. Yes, you can go home again, but, hmmm ... is that such a good idea?

The title of the play, in case you’re wondering, “Making God Laugh” generally is attributed to an interview with celebrity Woody Allen, who famously said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”

Director Richard Pahl, a notable actor in his own right, has cast well and honors the emphasis and density of Grennan’s language. Best of all, his direction has ensured all five characters demonstrate the human touch.

Shannon Mayhall is empty-nester Ruthie and consistently is stunning and brilliant in her delivery; there is a reason why she won Broadway World Chicago’s Best Actress Award. Thankfully, her character is the most developed and, as the play unfolds, Mayhall handles it all with obvious joy and heartbreak. Tom Hussey, who plays Bill, is facially reminiscent of actor John Lithgow; he plays the long-suffering, patient spouse well. Hussey finally gets to show his acting chops in the final scene, but, for the majority of the play, he is relegated to a chair or photo-taking job with his very expressive face. In my opinion, Grennan did a disservice by not developing the father-figure further.

The three adult children are credibly entertaining. Jocelyn Adamski is Maddie, the actress, who suffers the most at her mother’s hands and fears becoming her mother. Of the three adult children, her character is the most honest and the most passionate. I just wish Adamski had better wigs. Peter Surma aptly portrays Richie, the most affable and flamboyant of the characters as he drunkenly slides from one profession to another. His character shows the most overt changes (love the Y2K scene!) and, in the end, the most subtle. He also gets to wear the most fun costumes. Sean Alan Young, as the calm priest Thomas, exhibits all the goodness of Ruth’s favorite and most holy of children. Young is quite believable in his portrayal.

Complementing the cast are Marge Uhlarik-Boller’s costumes, which are visually attractive and showcase 30 years of fashion changes. Set designer Pete Steele has utilized Steel Beam’s intimate stage space well, yet the suburban living room never quite looks lived in or changed, which particularly is essential as time marches on and for the last scene. And, as with any play, there are some questions: Why is there a very close, very tall, gray stone wall surrounding the house? How can a character look out the unpaned window or open the door and see Richie’s cars or the neighbors? There’s a wall! Why is there only one stagehand (Annie Hamlin), who is quite efficient, but, due to all the prop strikes and set-ups as she admirably flits in and out, causes the audience to sit in the dark for restless periods of time? And what about that errant stomach-bump that moves every time Richie’s 1990 sweater does?

Is this the best of family plays? Probably not. I’m sure even playwright Grennan would agree – look to O’Neill or Simon for that. If you want a contemporary play that addresses the recent past and makes you appreciate all the things we did and didn’t get right, (8 Tracks, Enron, Google, the Yugo), through familiar eyes, then this play fits the bill.

• Regina Belt-Daniels is an actress and director who began her career onstage in 1985 at the Woodstock Opera House. Formerly serving on the Raue Center for the Arts Board, she also is a lifetime member of TownSquare Players and a retired District 47 teacher.

“MAKING GOD LAUGH”

WHEN: Through Nov. 5

WHERE: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 Main St., St. Charles

COST & INFO: Two acts, with one 15-minute intermission. Production times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets: $28, $23 students, $25 seniors. Tickets and information: www.steelbeamtheatre.org or 630-587-8521.