Heidi Thomas's CALL THE MIDWIFE Kicks Off Third Season on PBS; Next Project Will Be Broadway-Bound GIGI

"Call the Midwife," the acclaimed BBC/PBS series by Emmy-nominated screenwriter and playwright Heidi Thomas, began airing its third season on March 30, 2014 on PBS in the US and continues through May 18, 2014. The period drama, which follows the midwives and nuns of a convent in the poor East End of London in the 1950s, first premiered to record ratings on BBC One in the UK in January, 2012 and began airing in the US in fall of 2012 on PBS, earning ecstatic reviews from television writers. It is currently the BBC's top-rated drama, earning 10.5 million viewers per episode and has been sold to 197 territories worldwide. "Call the Midwife" is produced by Neal Street Productions, a film, television and stage production company, founded and run by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.

Thomas first gained national attention when she won the John Whiting Award for her play, Shamrocks and Crocodiles in 1985. Her play, Indigo, was staged by the RSC in their 1987-88 season. Her other work includes Some Singing Blood (Royal Court), The House of Special Purpose (Chichester Theatre Festival) and an adaptation of Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea, in London and at the National Theatre of Norway. Her other notable television credits include serving as writer and executive producer for the revival of the classic television drama "Upstairs Downstairs," and her award-winning work for the BBC adaptation of "Cranford".

Up next for Thomas is her entirely new stage adaptation of the classic Lerner & Loewe movie musical Gigi. Directed by Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), Gigi will play a pre-Broadway engagement from January 17-February 15, 2015 in the Eisenhower Theater at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (David M. Rubenstein, chairman, Michael M. Kaiser, president) in Washington, D.C.

Based on the 1944 novel by Colette, Gigi was first adapted to the Broadway stage by Anita Loos in 1951 with an unknown Audrey Hepburn in the title role; then, following their success with My Fair Lady, the team of Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) adapted the material for the 1958 movie musical, winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film, directed by Vincente Minnelli, is widely considered the last great MGM movie musical, and is beloved for its wit, charm and sumptuous costume and production design. Gigi includes such numbers as "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "I Remember It Well" "The Night They Invented Champagne" and the Oscar-winning title song, "Gigi". An earlier stage adaptation played on Broadway in 1973, and won the Tony Award for Best Score.

GIGI will be produced by Jenna Segal. Foresight Theatrical serves as General Manager. For more information, visit www.GigiOnBroadway.com.

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