By Kilian Melloy

R.J. Palacio’s 2012 novel Wonder was adapted into a 2017 film directed by Stephen Chbosky and starring Jacob Tremblay as Auggie Pullman, a ten-year-old boy with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes facial differences that can be so extreme that they interfere with vision, hearing, and breathing. Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Izabela Vidovic co-starred in the film as Auggie’s parents, Isabel and Nate, and his older sister, Via. Mandy Patinkin also stars as the principal of the school that Auggie attends for the first time, after Isabel has homeschooled him his entire life; and Daveed Diggs plays a teacher, Mr. Browne, whose “precepts” enumerate principles of kind and decent conduct — precepts that have a direct bearing on Auggie’s experiences as the other kids approach him gingerly, or not at all. Inevitably, there’s a bully on hand, Julian, to make Auggie’s life needlessly difficult. Still, Auggie manages to make a few friends, including Jack Will (Noah Jupe), who learns to see past Auggie’s facial differences and appreciate his humor, warmth, and intelligence, and Summer, who sticks with Auggie when a moment of thoughtless cruelty by Jack threatens their friendship.

Now the novel has found its way to a new incarnation as a stage musical with a book by acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl and songs by musical duo A Great Big World, a.k.a. Ian Axel and Chad King. The show is currently enjoying its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater ( Follow this link for more information) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the auspices of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and direction by Taibi Magar. An unqualified hit, the show has been extended twice (so far), its themes of personal courage, familial support, and the crucial role of human kindness striking a chord in its appreciative audiences. Can a Broadway triumph be far behind?

The stage version already possesses some Broadway magic in the casting of out stage and film star Javier Muñoz, whose professional resume includes the title role in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton as well as the lead, Usnavi, in Miranda’s musical In the Heights. Sharing the stage with Muñoz are fellow Broadway star Alison Luff as Isabel, Kaylin Hedges as Via, Donovan Louis Bazemore as Jack, Kylie MiRae Kuiolka as Summer, and a pair of young actors who share the role of Auggie, appearing in different performances: Garrett McNally and Max Voehl.

Javier Muñoz chatted with QulturVultur recently, describing the principles that have guided his impressive career, the way the new musical hits him emotionally, and what it’s like to work with such a talented young cast.

Kilian Melloy: You’ve been in Broadway musicals like Hamilton, in which you played the title character, and you were in In the Heights, where you played the main character, Usnavi. In Wonder you’re more of a supporting character. Is that kind of a relief?

Javier Muñoz: They are different responsibilities. When I took over the role of Usnavi full time, that was really driving the bus. Whoever you cast in that role has got to charm the pants off of the audience, and the audience has to trust him, and the audience has to take this ride every single moment with this character.

It’s the same thing with Hamilton; however, I feel that in Hamilton, Lin [Manuel Miranda] really wrote something that balanced well. Even though Hamilton was on stage basically the entire time, he wasn’t always in the driver’s seat. It’s wonderful to have those experiences of my input and my contributions to the character being part of my performance.

All that to say, in some ways, yes, it is a relief to be to be supporting the young artists that the story revolves around, but in no way is this character just supporting. The audience needs to feel how much the parents of Auggie love and support their child, and how hard they’re trying to give him as normal a life as possible without forgetting to nurture their daughter. The audience really needs to feel the multitudes that the parents are carrying. There’s plenty of work to be doing in all the details.

At this point of my career, it’s wonderful to not have to be in the driver’s seat, and it’s wonderful to get to hand that to someone else and lift that, though you know, those artists up and make sure they have everything they need. These are incredibly, incredibly professional and astoundingly talented young artists that you’re going to see around for a long time.

Kilian Melloy: One of the most genuine moments in the movie is when Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay retreat while the mother, Isabel, and daughter, Via, have an argument. Owen Wilson says something like, “You know what, son, this is not a place for us right now.” Are there moments like that in the stage version?

Javier Muñoz: I think what Sarah [Ruhl] does beautifully is, she’s crafted it so that Isabel and Nate really are a team; where she falls short, he picks up. Where he falls short, she picks up. I feel like the family scenes are written with all of us involved, and the audience gets a sense that there’s as much of a love and bond and connection between father and daughter as father and son. I think Sarah’s crafted something that is so dynamic… There are a lot of levels and a lot of dynamics happening in very short scenes. Sarah is an incredible book writer. She can say so much with so little and capture so much and give us so much to play with.

Kilian Melloy: What are your favorites among the songs, regardless of whether you actually sing them?

Javier Muñoz: I love the song that Isabel sings to Auggie called “Beautiful,” in Act One. In the telling of this particular story, it is so important to have that moment early in the show to just see that Auggie gets to express, in a raw way, what he’s feeling and what it’s like to be starting school and be the kid that everyone is looking at and judging. And then to see Isabel just love him so fiercely. And then there’s a beautiful number in Act Two called “Shoes,” performed so remarkably by Donovan [Louis Bazemore]. Donovan is one of those young actors that we are going to see forever and ever on the stage. Brilliant, just brilliant. Whether we intend that to be the case or not, we can really hurt each other with our words, and that song captures his struggle. I think, particularly right now in the climate of the country, to be able to embody that moment of humility and humanity and just say “I’m sorry” is a very, very powerful thing.

I have one song, a very brief song in Act Two, but it is such an important moment where Nate wants to support his son becoming a young man and give Auggie everything that he needs. Augie hears him and makes a really beautiful, powerful decision. It’s a gorgeous song, and a gorgeous moment.

Kilian Melloy: Wonder is obviously a hit; it’s already been extended twice. Up on the stage you’ve got a vibe with a living, breathing audience, and they with you. What are you picking up on from audiences night after night?

Javier Muñoz: It changes every performance, and it’s really thrilling. Folks come in ready to have a great time, and they’re vocal and they’re energized, and they’re clapping along at the big numbers. And then we have audiences that come in that are pensive and they’re listening so intently, and they’re quiet, but they’re so with us in every beat, and we can feel it. It’s so thrilling to have a conversation with the audiences, because we really don’t know what we’re going to be greeted with.

Audiences collectively agree that they’re going to be a type of energy. We have to be ready for what they’re going to give us. It changes performance to performance, and I love that, because it’s a vibrant conversation every time.

Kilian Melloy: The message of the play is kindness, acceptance, meeting people where they are. Is that what drew you to the show? Or were a fan of Wonder even before?

Kilian Melloy: The message of the play is kindness, acceptance, meeting people where they are. Is that what drew you to the show? Or were a fan of Wonder even before?

Javier Muñoz: I knew of the story, but I hadn’t really experienced either the book or the film. When this came my way, it was an email with a script and with the music attached. I can honestly tell you, I think I was on page, like 21 or 22 and I was already crying from what I was reading off the page. I wrote back immediately to my reps. I was like, “The answer is yes! I’m not even a third of the way through the script, but the answer is yes, I absolutely want to be in this room.”

And there’s the message of the story. It means so much to me as a gay man [and] as someone living openly with HIV. It means so much to me just being a minority in this country. It means so much to me as a human being. The morals and messages of this story play to every experience I’ve had as a human being, and it’s the kind of energy and message I want to be a part of telling and sharing.

Kilian Melloy: Queer people, people of color, women — historically disenfranchised people of all sorts are being shoved to the margins. It seems like this play and its message could not have landed at a more important moment.

Javier Muñoz: I agree with that, and I know a thing or two about that, because that was Hamilton. We couldn’t have predicted the climate that we were premiering that story in. I feel that way about this, too; this could not come at a better time, and I’m so grateful that it’s happening now. Audiences are being given an opportunity to leave everything at the door and spend time in such kindness and humanity and love and joy, and hopefully leave uplifted and nourished, and better for it.

Kilian Melloy: It wasn’t so long ago that there were so-called “ugly laws” in the U.S. barring people of certain appearance or with certain mobility issues from public places. Even now, many states have laws on the books essentially criminalizing being HIV+. Is representation — including the way it’s being upheld in the casting of this play — important for you?

Javier Muñoz: Always. Early in my career, when it came to film and TV, the only thing people would consider me for was thugs and drug dealers. I was like, “No, that’s not who I am, and I’m not going to perpetuate that stereotype.” I had to come to terms with that choice, because it limited what I would go in for, and it limited the amount of work I was able to get. In 2005, three years after I tested positive, I hit a wall where I was like, “I am so completely done with being treated by anyone as less than because of my status, because of my ethnicity, because of my sexuality, because of any aspect of me.” I was working my ass off to build this career, so if anyone was going to judge me for any of those aspects, then they were someone I didn’t want to work with, not the other way around. It became a very important platform for me to stand on and openly share and say, “I don’t care how many awards you’ve won, how many accolades you have, how long your career has been, if you’re going to treat me in a certain way, you can go to hell, not me.” It became the whole point of my career.

Theater is a collaborative art, and it is based in our human experiences. If each room is not safe and nurturing and able to keep the energy creative building forward, then that’s not the room for me. I’ve stuck to my guns, and I’m so lucky because I’ve always landed in the right rooms.

This interview has been edited for length, flow, and clarity.

“Wonder” continues through February 15 at the American Repertory Theater in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. For tickets and more information, go to the A.R.T. website.

Watch this video of scenes from Wonder: