7 / 10
Dad Don’t Read This resolves, in many ways, but there’s an unfilled spot left at its center. Amid the warmth and humor of her portrait of teenagehood, Smith is touching on a cold and bracing thing. Sometimes, people, like pixels, can just flicker out.
9 / 10
Dad Don’t Read This is fueled by the intensity of these small moments that accumulate: how you tell your friends things, the tiny misunderstandings that create an ever-growing wedge, the petty jealousies of who hangs out with whom and when, the thrill of dancing around in your room, the feverish anticipation of hearing something new about the person at school whom you all dislike (or maybe not). It's like we're peeking into moments we shouldn’t: There’s an intoxicating danger to listening to young girls break up and make up, these tiny moments representative of the choices they make to become themselves.
Eliya Smith’s Dad Don’t Read This, directed by Chloe Claudel, will present additional performances and a final extension. The show features performances by Drama Desk winner Amalia Yoo.
Dad Don't Read This, a new play by Eliya Smith is now playing Off-Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre. See what the critics are saying in BroadwayWorld's Review Roundup here.
Following the breakout success of her Off-Broadway debut Grief Camp, playwright Eliya Smith will bring audiences deeper into the lives of teenagers with the world premiere of Dad Don’t Read This.
