Andrew Lloyd Webber turned Whistle Down The Wind, Mary Hayley Bell's 1959 book and the subsequent film, into a musical 14 years ago.

Now Bill Kenwright has launched an impressive touring version packed with charming songs – more than 30 of them – outstanding performances and a tear jerker of a finale.

For the musical version, Lloyd Webber and lyricist Jim Steinman moved the location from gritty Lancashire to the Louisiana bible belt of the 1950s.

Three children – Swallow, Brat and Poor Baby – from an impoverished farming family have just lost their mother. Their lives change when the bright-eyed and youthful Swallow finds a mystery man hiding in their dilapidated barn. When she asks for his identity the first startled words he utters are 'Jesus Christ' and it's as though her prayers have been answered.

While the rest of the townspeople search for a fugitive who has escaped from jail, Swallow, giving him all her trust, gathers the town's children who make a pact to protect their new-found saviour.

The story unveils against a simple yet imaginative set which switches from town to barn with ease and some top class performances, notably from Carly Bawden as Swallow.

She is hardly off-stage, captures the charm and innocence of childhood and the dawn of her teenage years to perfection and has a beautiful singing voice.

Full justice is given to the songs, including the title number and the Boyzone hit No Matter What, a stunning version featuring Swallow and the children.

Bruised, bearded and bloodied, Jonathan Ansell, formerly of G4, thrills with his exceptional tenor range, giving a compelling performance as The Man who might or might not be Jesus and there is fine support from Lincoln Stone as the children's father, the rebel teenager Amos (Carl Stallwood, all leathers, motorbike and big hair) and Scarlette Douglas as Candy, anxious to leave the bible-thumping town with its underlying racial tension.

Whistle Down The Wind is at Nottingham's Theatre Royal until Saturday.