So we all acknowledge Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” served as the inspiration and source of the beloved Herman/Stewart musical “Hello, Dolly!” and the 1969 Barbara Streisand film. (And you’ll get no inevitable comparasions  from me in this review). But did we know Wilder resided at Drexel Avenue in Hyde Park and taught drama, comparative literature and composition at the University of Chicago from 1930-1936?

The ideas for “The Matchmaker” germinated in Hyde Park, according to Tappan Wilder, his nephew and current literary executor of the estate. Tappan also claims 1930-1936 was Thornton Wilder’s “golden age” of becoming a playwright, as he was working on at least 10 plays then, including “Our Town” and “The Skin of Our Teeth.” He already had won the Pulitzer for the novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey.”

Obtaining the rights to “The Matchmaker” was easy for director Henry Wishcamper because of Wilder’s Chicago connection; Wishcamper worked with Tappan Wilder on this new adaptation for the Goodman. There’s a reason why “The Matchmaker” had a very healthy Broadway run of 486 performances (1955-1957) and why it continues to be a success. It’s that lovely, poignant unshakeable theme: embrace the unexpected as you celebrate the joys and tragedies of life.

Wishcamper’s buoyant, exuberant, diversely (and excellently) cast production does just that and pays a witty and well-paced tribute to the plot: when wealthy Horace Vandergelder hires the widowed marriage broker Dolly Levi to find him a wife, she doesn’t have far to look. There’s misdirection, mischief, mistaken identity and plenty of humor.

The open set by Neil Patel is sparse and workable, suggesting the style and atmosphere of a room with blurring black-and-white photo shots of the city skyline fully visible in the background. For me, the Harmonia Gardens set was a disappointment – I need that lush, opulent elegance described by the characters. Fortunately, the costumes by Jenny Mannis show no shortage of elegant spectacle and appropriately span the society classes of 1890s New York, from coachman to proper working girl to the tuxedoed and ball-gowned rich.

The cast is a true gift of bon-bons and bon vivants. Kristine Nielsen plays Dolly with a delicious comedic cunning, a modern craftiness and incandescent optimism that almost supercedes her poignant touches (watch out for that heartfelt announcement to her deceased husband, Ephraim, that she’s going to marry Horace).

Dolly, of course, has all the best lines from, “Money is like manure – it’s not worth a thing if it’s not spread around encouraging young things to grow,” to my favorite analogy comparing her existence to a long-kept oak leaf that now is “without color, without life.” (Nielsen played Dolly in her high school production of “The Matchmaker,” and this production marks her return to the Chicago stage since her Northwestern days.) Nielsen has a magnificent chemistry with Allen Gilmore, who flawlessly portrays Horace Vandergelder stoically, gentlemanly, handsomely and with a rich, warm vocal capacity.

Both Nielsen and Gilmore are adept at quips, banter, entendres, facials and timing. They are the ying to each other’s yang.

The supporting cast is equally stellar. Postell Pringle (Cornelius) and the very acrobatic Behzad Dabu (Barnaby) are a well-matched dynamic duo. Elizabeth Ledo is the spunkiest Irene Molloy I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch onstage. Theo Allyn, as niece Ermengarde, is a petite, nervous and quite silly innocent who drives Ronobir Lahiri’s suitor Ambrose to understandable distraction. But it is Marilyn Dodds Frank who almost runs away with the show. Her Flora Van Husen is a sultry free spirit who consistently delivers with comic timing and pacing.

Parallel to Frank’s talents is Marc Grapey, as the almost-ganster assistant to Horace Vandergelder. His Malachi’s “one vice at a time” address to the audience nearly brings the house down.

Ironically, Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” had a predecessor. Titled “The Merchant of Yonkers,” it closed after just 39 performances, but it was saved and revised, morphing into “The Matchmaker,” all because actress Ruth Gordon took an interest in the play. (She originated the role of Dolly in the 1955 Broadway production.) Wilder shifted the focus from Dutch merchant Horace Vandergelder to the matchmaker Dolly Levi, and the rest, they say, is history.

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