Further Changes
Tommy Tune brought his own vision to EFX when he replaced David Cassidy in 1999. The show was once again rewritten, this time to better suit Tommy's performance style, most particularly his dancing. EFX was brought back to some of its more serious roots, however, it still retained some of the humour that had been introduced by Cassidy.
The Tommy Tune version of the EFX soundtrack was released in 1999 by The MGM Grand and, like its predecessor, was available only in the hotel gift shop or by telephone order. More changes were made to the music to accommodate the changes in the scrip, and several new songs by Bill Wray were added, heightening the emotional impact of the soundtrack.
Differences Between the 1997 and 1999 Soundtracks Master's Theme was replaced by Prologue, In Dreams, and What a Night.
The title song was rewritten as EFX (Bring on the Dream), and the original music and lyrics of the theme became The EFX Masters, a reflective piece similar to the opening of the Michael Crawford finale, that segues into the finale dance.
The Magic That Surrounds You was replaced by When You Believe (Lullaby).
Greatest Showman in the Universe was lengthened and is now performed before The Intergalactic Circus of Wonders.
A new instrumental, Eclipse, was added to the Houdini scene.
The Stick Dance is not featured on the 1999 soundtrack.
River in Time is no longer performed by the lead character.
The finale dance music was once again rewritten.
Two new songs, Song and Dance Man and The Wedge, were added between parts one and two of Let it Shine.
The cast of EFX changed once again in 1999. The EFX Master was cut from the show completely, as was David Cassidy's character of Bus Boy. King Arthur was portrayed once again as a young boy, and the roles of Morgana and Bess Houdini were once more performed by the same actress.
New additions to the cast included Ernest Chambers and Ken Young, who performed the song River in Time, and dancer Andy Pellick. Original cast member Tina Walsh returned to reprise her roles as Morgana and Bess Houdini, and her re-casting led to the song Tonight being added back into the Houdini act of the show. Sal Salangsang stayed on to perform the pre-show, and at Tommy Tune's insistence, was formally recognized as a cast member during the curtain call. Paul May continued to understudy all The Masters, and co-starred with Andy Pellick as the understudy to Tommy Tune, Paul providing vocals and Andy dancing Tommy's choreography. Stewart Daylida was recognized as the only cast member to have performed in all three versions of EFX, having originated the role of The Master of Laughter and playing the character until The Masters were written out of the show by Rick Springfield in 2001.
Tune's Departure
Tommy Tune originally signed a one year contract to appear in EFX. At the end of his run in 1999, he extended his contract for another six months before leaving in mid-2000. It's unclear if Tune left to pursue other projects or if there were other reasons, but the show had a history of performance accidents, making it entirely possible that Tune left due to injuries.