I read Brantley, too, and thought it condescendingly bitchy of him to imply that one could love Menzel's performance only IF one is a fan of soft rock music stations...because the point is, the audience adores Idina and he didn't want to indicate he didn't "notice" that they hold a different opinion and that it is she who is the heart and soul of the show.
I love Kristin, too, and she's wonderful. The part is wonderful. But it only works with Idina's character being who she is.
It's silly of me, I know, but I think I could have helped fix a few things....lord knows, I posted enough comments on enough web sites to suggest ways of making some needed changes. Apparently, all the changes they did make were something other than the things that so obviously needed attention when it played here.
Oddly, Brantley praised the sets, the costumes, the lighting, Kristin, Idina, Butz and Federer, plus the director.
He wasn't fond of the score, and he didn't feel Elphaba was realized fully enough to hold her own with Glinda.
I think it depends on how you approach it...and whether you're obsessively distracted by bright shiny baubles. Brantley apparently is.
But I love it anyway. And if audiences latch onto it, the sky's the limit.