There we were, back nestled inside the ornate auditorium of the Goodspeed Opera House, as talented actors sang buoyant, melodious showtunes onstage.

It had been a while.

For 21 months, the theater in East Haddam was closed to audiences because of COVID. If my visit on Wednesday was any indication, fans are overjoyed to be back.

An example: During intermission, a woman approached a Goodspeed employee and said, with barely contained glee, that she loved the show; it made her happy at a time when there’s not much to be chipper about. That might be the best review a production could get.

The show is a revue featuring the music of the legendary team of Rodgers & Hammerstein, titled “A Grand Night for Singing: A Celebration of Rodgers & Hammerstein.” (It replaced Goodspeed’s originally planned Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” which was too big of a production to stage at this point in the pandemic.)

“A Grand Night” is decidedly not a staid regurgitation of R&H numbers — far from it. It makes familiar tunes feel fresh.

The way they are doing the songs occasionally hews close to tradition (the lovely “Some Enchanted Evening,” for instance) but more often reimagines them in a slightly new way, without losing the melody that made them so memorable to begin with (“Shall We Dance” get a jazzy take).

The staging is clever, too.That’s not a surprise, considering the production is directed by Rob Ruggiero, whose work at Goodspeed has always been inspired.

One of my favorites: As actresses Mamie Parris and Diane Phelan sing “Stepsisters’ Lament” from “Cinderella,” with lyrics about “Why would a fellow want a girl like her? A frail and fluffy beauty? Why can’t a fellow ever once prefer a solid girl like me?,” they stare ruefully at their cell phones, and you can imagine their words are sparked by images they see on social media or dating sites.

Parris and Phelan are part of a five-person cast that works and harmonizes beautifully together. Jasmine Forsberg’s rich, full voice is put to fine use on the sassy “It’s Me.” Jesse Nager is the secret weapon in terms of sly comic timing and expressions, as in his take on “I Cain’t Say No.” He is also a gifted vocalist, building to a beautifully moving high point on “If I Loved You.”

Mauricio Martinez has the bearing and the pipes of an opera singer. His Spanish version of “Something Wonderful” is, well, wonderful.

In an interview with The Day during the rehearsal process, Ruggiero said he wanted the production to reflect the times we’re living in, meaning it features a diverse cast and a modern approach to the material about relationships. He said, “You know, it’s a celebration of the R&H canon, but it’s really a celebration of love and life, using the R&H canon to explore a relationship and connection. … I said right away that it can’t just be male-female in 2021. So we’re playing with all that fluidity. We’re also gender bending, so songs that are traditionally women’s are men’s and vice versa.”

In addition to men and women singing romantic numbers to each other, then, so do same-sex couples on occasion (including a sweet two-dads version of “When the Children Are Asleep”).

Switching the gender of the person performing a tune gives a different spin to, for instance, “Maria” from “The Sound of Music,” which now comes from the perspective of a smitten young man.

Costumes and scenery

The costumes in “A Grand Night” are understated: black outfits for the first act, the addition of blue tops for the second. Accessories provide whimsy — oversized cowboy hats for “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” and a shiny jacket and aprons for “Honey Bun.” “Honey Bun,” by the way, is the most enjoyably silly number of the night, with all five cast members dancing (choreography by Lainie Sakakura) and metaphorically winking at the ridiculous, sexist lyrics (“My doll is as dainty as a sparrow/Her figure is somethin’ to applaud/Where she’s narrow she’s as narrow as an arrow/And she’s broad where a broad should be broad”).

While there’s not a traditional set, the back wall of the stage boasts a big, full moon whose designs change at various points during the night.

I guess you could call the instruments part of the scenery. The six-piece orchestra is onstage, and the shiny grand piano and huge harp seem like gorgeous pieces of the set.

The theater experience during COVID

Before you even see “A Grand Night,” you have to abide by various COVID protocols. Goodspeed asks that you get to the Opera House at least a half-hour before showtime, in case you have to stand in line waiting for theater workers to check your vaccination card. (People who aren’t vaccinated need to get a pre-approved exception from Goodspeed and then must provide negative COVID test results.)

On the night I attended, I was lucky: No one was in front of me, and I went right up to the outdoor table, handed them my card, and moved into the theater.

Once you wander inside, you remain masked. The only time audience members are allowed to take off their masks is when they are drinking either in the bar area or outdoors. Everyone I saw followed those rules impeccably.

Goodspeed covers all the bases in reminding you ahead of time: sending emails and even calling with a recording of Goodspeed Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton going over the major protocol points.

Seats are left intentionally empty so that different groups of theatergoers in the same aisle are one vacant seat apart. That does make it feel slightly less of a communal experience than when audience members are packed together, laughing and cheering with the power of a full house — but only slightly.

And I will say this: When the performers sing directly to the audience about, say, being face to face, it feels like an acknowledgement of the happiness everyone feels in being back inside the theater.

If you go

What: “A Grand Night for Singing: A Celebration of Rodgers & Hammerstein”

Where: Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam

When: Runs through Nov. 28; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wed., 7;30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 3 and 8 p.m. Sat. and 2 p.m. Sun.; also 2 p.m. shows on select Thursdays and 6:30 p.m. shows on select Sundays

Tickets: Start at $29

Contact: (860) 873-8668, goodspeed.org