Around the millennium, I started talking to animals again. British TV star Phillip Shofield starred in my stage adaptation of Dr. Dolittle with about 100 electronic animals created by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. The show ran in London and around the U.K. from 1998 to 2001, and opened in the United States in 2005. Broadway legend Tommy Tune, winner of nine Tony Awards, took over the direction of the show and the title role in early 2006, and a new U.K. production starring Tommy Steele opened successfully in October 2007.