NEVER let beauty go to waste.

That is message of Tim Firth and Gary Barlow's The Girls and there are so many layers and meanings to that simple phrase.

It is first said by actor James Gaddas who plays National Park officer John in the musical's premiere at The Lowry.

He is referring to the natural world which he loves and it is also a term of affection for his wife Annie (Joanna Riding).

In the wider sense of the story, inspired by the real 'calendar girls' of Rylstone and District Women's Institute, it the beauty of a life well spent, of community – and, of course, a tongue-in-cheek reference to that famous calendar.

After penning the Calendar Girls film and subsequent play, former Stockton Heath Primary School pupil Tim originally thought there was little to add to the story.

But this adaptation is not so much about turning Calendar Girls into a musical as it is about showing the impact on a small town when a well-loved community figure died.

The true story follows John Baker who died five months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1998.

We all know about the 'alternative' WI calendar that followed to raise money for the hospital where John was treated – but The Girls gives a more personal take on how Annie coped with her loss.

Barlow and Firth's 'village green musical' also makes the group's husbands and children just as much a part of the story revealing their reaction to the 'nude not naked' calendar which went on to sell 88,000 copies.

What gives The Girls its impact is that, at its heart, the story is so ordinary.

These were ordinary women who were touched by cancer like so many communities are. It was their reaction that was extraordinary.

So there are moments of sadness in the musical with the bittersweet acceptance of life as a finite thing but it is also funny, heartwarming and moving.

The stars Joanna Riding, Claire Moore, Vivien Parry, Sara Kestelman, Debbie Chazen and Claire Machin – portraying WI members and friends from all walks and stages of life – do the production proud, as do all the cast.

And, as you might expect from Barlow, the music is infectious. It will be no surprise if Who Wants A Silent Night? becomes a classic Christmas song.

The Girls also comes across as a love letter to Yorkshire – a part of the world that Firth often ventured to and where he first came across a certain calendar...

- The Girls is at The Lowry until January 30. Visit thelowry.com