Amalia Yoo Will Lead Eliya Smith's Dad Don't Read This Off-Broadway

Amalia Yoo Will Lead Eliya Smith's Dad Don't Read This Off-Broadway

Chloe Claudel will direct the newest work by the Grief Camp playwright.

March 10, 2026 By Meg Masseron

Amelia Yoo will star in Eliya Smith's Dad Don't Read This Off-Broadway at St. Luke's Theatre this spring. Directed by Chloe Claudel, the newest work from the playwright behind Grief Camp will run May 4-24. An official opening night is set for May 11.

Drama Desk winner Amalia Yoo (John Proctor is the Villain) will be joined by Renée-Nicole Powell (Grief Camp), Sophie Rossman, and Kayta Thomas.

Set in suburban Central Ohio, the play centers on four girls who meet weekly for a sleepover. They talk and sleep and play The Sims, a computer game that simulates real life, on a laptop, gossiping, snacking, and attempting to get drunk. They strive to fulfill their needs, struggle to understand the relationship between doing and being seen, and begin to suspect they don't have a whole lot of agency.

“I love the potency of emotion in young people—the stakes of everything are so high, and feelings come easily and powerfully...Dad Don’t Read This is my love letter to adolescence and to teenage friendship and also an attempt to document how excruciating it is to be only partially a person,” said Smith in a statement.

Dad Don’t Read This will feature scenic and prop design by Forest Entsminger, costume design by Dante Gonzalez, lighting desing by Abigail Sage, sound design by Mitchell Polonsky, choreography by Lena Engelstein, production stage management by Mya Piccione, and assistant stage management by Madeline Riddick-Seals.

Kerrigan Quenemoen is producing, with general management by Immediate Medium, and production management by Mitchell Polonsky. Blaise Ylianna Hewlett is associate producer and associate production manager, and Arturo Chavez and Jennifer Friedland are co-producers.

The production team includes Kerrigan Quenemoen (lead producer), Immediate Medium (general management), Ethan Fuirst (marketing), June Buck (graphic design), Mitchell Polonsky (production manager), and Blaise Ylianna Hewlett (associate producer & associate production manager). Arturo Chavez and Jennifer Friedland are co-producers.

For tickets and more information, visit DadDontReadThis.com.