Peter Marks, Washington Post: On the basis of what’s on view in the Eisenhower, the slick and consistently entertaining “Ain’t Too Proud” is surely ready for Broadway, and a couple of the anchoring performances infuse it with enough dramatic life to sustain a 2½ -hour production. The antagonistic partnership between two of the five “classic” Temptations, Otis Williams (played by Derrick Baskin) and David Ruffin (Ephraim Sykes), sustains the central tension of the piece, with Baskin serving as the evening’s even-keeled narrator. (The musical is based on a 2012 memoir by Williams, the last survivor among the original group members.) Sykes’s fiery, egocentric Ruffin is forever chafing at the homogeneity of style and sharing of credit demanded by Williams – a behavioral legacy that may help to explain why, over the past six decades, 24 men have rotated through the group.

Lisa Traiger, DC Metro Theater Arts: Director Des McAnuff, who has a Tony for Jersey Boys and recently put his talents into Summer: The Donna SummerMusical, keeps the story moving so swiftly that the very few moments when a contemplative song comes on, it feels like a relief. Robert Brill‘s set, with its electronic marquee and red brick backdrop with Peter Nigrini‘s projections, slides performers on and off on a fast-moving rolling sidewalk and a turntable that allows backstage and side stage glimpses of the singing group in action. The show’s star? Hands down the Temptations’ songbook, from early standards “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “My Girl,” “Since I Lost My Baby,” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” to later hits like “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Superstar.”

Barbara Johnson, BroadwayWorld: Along with Baskin as Williams, the four other original Temptations anchor the production: Ephraim Sykes as mercurial, magnetic David Ruffin; Jeremy Pope as rebellious Eddie Kendricks; James Harknessas honey-voiced Paul Williams; and Jawan M. Jackson as lovable bass Melvin Franklin. Each of them is given multiple moments to shine brightly across a fast-moving two and a half hours. Williams is the last surviving original group member, with 24 men having rotated in and out over the years.