A multistage read can dynamically change wordline capacitance as a function of threshold voltage of a memory cell being read. The multistage read can reduce current spikes and reduce the heating up of a memory cell during a read. A memory device includes a global wordline driver to connect a wordline of a selected memory cell to the sensing circuit, and a local wordline driver local to the memory cell. After the wordline is charged to a read voltage, control logic can selectively enable and disable a portion or all of the global wordline driver and the local wordline driver in conjunction with applying different discrete voltage levels to the bitline to perform a multistage read.