dad don’t read this
Written by Eliya Smith
Directed by Chloe Claudel
Lighting Design by Abigail Sage
Scenic Design by Forest Entsminger
Costume Design by Ollivia Vaughn Hern
Sound Design by Mitchell Polonsky
Photos by Abigail Sage and Valerie Terranova
St. Luke’s Theatre | May 2026
press
Review by Helen Shaw in the NYT Critics’ Notebook:
Reality in the play sometimes drifts into the Sims’ digital otherwhere: During one stunning coup de théâtre, one side of the theater becomes a wall of light, as if Mal’s room has booted up to a glowing screen. But most of “Dad Don’t Read This” is rambunctious and delightfully, kinetically familiar. The choreographer Lena Engelstein provides a dance break that includes Thomas executing a high-flying wrestling move onto a bean bag, and the characters affectionately tumble together like a pile of puppies.