You Say You Like Musicals?

This Friday, Sir Tim Rice stops by Theater Talk to talk about some of his successes (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and The Lion King) as well as the return of cult-favorite Chess next weekend in a concert version. This week's poll questions how much of a musical theater lover you are, and my question for you all here extends to how you actually feel about musicals today.

Do you feel that musicals need to be spectacles, as with Spamalot and Wicked, or can they focus more on a pure sound, like Jersey Boys? Should the musical tilt more toward the imagination of Disney's high-priced Little Mermaid, or should it tilt more toward windmills, as with the recent low-budget revivals of Man of La Mancha that have spread throughout the off-Broadway community? And when it comes to revivals, are you more in favor of the emphasis on music, like with Lincoln Center's South Pacific, or are you the sort of person who prefers a fresh twist in the production, like the pared-down orchestra and technological advancements of Sunday in the Park with George, or the ensemble-as-orchestra phenomenon of John Doyle's Company and Sweeney Todd?

For that matter, how do you feel about originality on the Broadway stage? Revivals like Gypsy and the upcoming West Side Story feed a desire to latch on to our memories, and movie adaptations like Cry Baby and Hairspray give new life to old pap (and vice-versa, as with the film adaptations of Chicago and The Producers), but do you prefer these established stories, or do you prefer to be wowed by something new, like In the Heights or Passing Strange?