In the Old Testament, a healing balm was made from the sap of a bush.

The balm grew so plentifully in ancient Israel that it came to be known as the “balm of Gilead.”

Gilead is where the young woman protagonist of the musical “The Spitfire Grill” decides to go when she is released from prison. Percy Talbott’s journey to a new life in the rural Wisconsin town reveals not only her own reawakening, but also parabolically provides the balm that heals a wounded town.

“The Spitfire Grill” opens at Whidbey Children’s Theater in Langley on Friday,

March 18 and plays through April 3 on the Martha Murphy Mainstage.

Susannah Rose Woods directs the Third Street Players, WCT’s teenaged actors, in a musical she calls “magic.”

“I love this show,” Woods said.

“When I first heard that the movie was made into a musical,

I was wary,” she said. “But when I heard the music and I read the script, I was just delighted. It’s gorgeous. The music just melts me.”

It melted hearts in New York, as well.

When “The Spitfire Grill” opened on Broadway in September 2001, it played for only three performances before New York’s Twin Towers fell.

When the tragedy of 9/11 passed, the show ran four weeks longer than expected in a city that, within the faces of its citizens, reflected the devastation of a nation. Here was a place that needed a balm like no other.

Based on the movie of the same name, writers James Valqc and Fred Alley transformed the screenplay into a musical theater piece that spoke to New Yorkers who, at that moment in history, were assuaged by the play’s themes of renewal and hope. It was made even more satisfying by its well-crafted songs that were seamlessly integrated into natural dialogue and down-to-earth storytelling. “The Spitfire Grill” captured the heart and soul of America when Americans needed it most.

Now small towns are in need of some of the same.

The story follows the feisty parolee Percy to Gilead, where she is grudgingly given a job at the Spitfire Grill owned by the cantankerous Hannah Ferguson. Soon after, Hannah is injured, and is forced to depend on Percy. Percy is a terrible cook, but is luckily assisted by Shelby, who happens to be an excellent cook and becomes somewhat of a mentor.

In the course of her adventures in Gilead, Percy is thwarted by Shelby’s husband, courted quietly by Sheriff Joe, and cruelly gossiped about by the townspeople, led by the hot-tempered postmistress Effy. But by story’s end, both Percy and Hannah achieve “freedom from their self-imposed imprisonment,” and a wounded community accepts the hand of redemption offered to them through an unexpected twist of destiny.

Woods said the script, which was so poignantly embraced after 9/11, has become apropos again in these troubled economic times.

“The script works right now for me because in the play the town is struggling from the closing of its quarry,” Woods said.

“Then this girl comes into town and brings hope. It’s what’s happening here. It’s what’s happening all over America,” she said.

Reflected in the play’s theme is the real-life support of WCT’s community. The furniture used for the set is borrowed from the Dog House Tavern, many of the props and costumes are borrowed from Good Cheer Thrift Store and the donuts used in the play are donated by Payless.

“It’s Wisconsin, so there is a lot of plaid, too,” Woods added.

With the great gaggle of talented young actors available to her on Whidbey Island, Woods decided to double cast some of the principle roles in the play, which means there are two actors each for the parts of Percy, Shelby and Effy.

Every modern American folktale deserves its own music, and the play’s jaunty score delivers with live bluegrass and folk music performed by Robert Marsanyi, keyboards; Zoe Hensler, violin; and Chelsea Bonacello, cello. Troels Oxenvad, guitarist, will join them during the second and third weekend.

The cast includes Ambria Prosch, Dominique Knight, Gina Knox, Kate Ewing, Will Mellish, Chad Reinkens, Austin Drake, Colette Grove, Dinah Hassrick, Sommer Harris and Jenny Zisette.

“The Spitfire Grill” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 18 and runs for three weekends. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students/seniors. Thursday, March 24 is a pay-what-you-can show. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the WCT box office at 221-2282. The theater is at 222 Anthes Ave. in Langley.