You may have seen Celeste Burnum, Jan D. Hunter, Holly Dikeman and Debbie Smith on Birmingham stages before, but not quite like this. In “Calendar Girls,” which opens tonight at the Virginia Samford Theatre, they bare it all – in a way.

“It’s very discreet,” director Dane Peterson says of the nudity in the play. “It’s there, but it’s covered. The illusion serves its purpose. We shouldn’t be raided by Birmingham police.”

Anyone who has seen the 2003 film “Calendar Girls” knows what Peterson is talking about. That film, the basis for Tim Firth’s stage play, stars Helen Mirren and tells the true story of the Rylstone Women’s Institute, a club in Yorkshire, England. After the husband of a club member dies of cancer, the club decides to raise money for the local hospital by creating a tasteful calendar featuring photos of them in the nude. The calendar is a phenomenon, and the women’s relationships are put to the test.

Peterson was pleased to be given the chance to direct the Virginia Samford Theatre’s production of “Calendar Girls,” one of only a handful of productions taking place in the United States.

“I haven’t seen the movie, so I went into it very cold,” Peterson says. “I wanted to tell our story, and obviously, that’s a film and this is the stage, so it will be different. It’s a very touching, very moving, very funny piece of theater.”

The real-life calendar came about after years of fundraising calendars that featured bridges, buildings and other depictions of life in Yorkshire. Turns out tasteful nudity is much more profitable than local landmarks.

“The calendar did really well,” Peterson says. “It made a lot of money. Instead of replacing a worn-out settee in a room, they were able to buy a whole new wing toward leukemia research.”

In addition to the four actresses already mentioned, the cast of “Calendar Girls” includes Reagan Dickey, Julie Meadows, Sharon Morgan, Martha Summey, Natalie Valentine, John Ambrose, Clay Boyce, Jamie Lawrence and David Strickland.

And life is imitating art in this case as the VST’s cast is producing its own tasteful “Calendar Girls” calendar. Featuring photos of the cast by Talia Pepke and Billy Brown, a portion of the calendars’ sales will benefit UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. A performance Nov. 10 will benefit the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation.

The calendar is exciting, but so is the opportunity to produce the Alabama premiere of a popular British play, Peterson says.

“To bring this to Birmingham and the state, to really let our actors sink their teeth into it, is exciting,” Peterson says. “And to be able to do it fresh and not copy anyone else’s production is a good thing, too.”

“Calendar Girls,” at the Virginia Samford Theatre in Birmingham through Nov. 22. Tickets are $28 and $33, available at www.virginiasamfordtheatre.org or by calling 205-251-1206.