In the new musical Wonder, 12-year-old Auggie Pullman has spent most of his life in two environments: at home, where he was homeschooled by his mom, and in hospitals where he has had some 20 operations due to being born with a genetic craniofacial disorder called Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS). The worst, thankfully, is behind him; now he faces a new challenge: social interaction. His caring mom feels that homeschooling has gone as far as it can go, plus she wants to return to her long-stalled career as a children’s book illustrator. But attending school terrifies Auggie, whose only social interactions are with an imaginary spaceman seen in the opening number. An earlier trip to a public park confirmed his worst fears when children jeered and ran away upon seeing him; but he agrees to attend 7th grade at Beecher Prep.

What follows at the Loeb Drama Center (where the musical plays through February 8) recounts his first year at school. The musical, with a book by Sarah Ruhl and a score by Ian Axel and Chad King (known as the pop group A Great Big World), is at times awkward in cramming in characters and subplots. But it is, for the most part, an exuberant delight, brimming with heartfelt positivity that’s expertly staged and joyfully performed. Ruhl’s book unfolds with earnest, upbeat energy, and the 19 Axel/King songs underscore its driving message of empathy. It is difficult to find fault with a musical whose message is expressed in a big production number called “Choose Kind.”

Unlike the film version of R. J. Palacio’s best-selling novel, in which actor Jacob Tremblay played Auggie through the use of prosthetics, the ART production casts two actors (who alternate performances) with facial differences. (11-year-old Max Voehl has a cleft lip and palate; 16-year-old Garrett McNally has Treacher Collins Syndrome.) This casting gives Wonder a remarkable authenticity that forces its audience to experience Auggie as those in the narrative do.

If only the creative team explored Auggie’s inner self with more depth. He does express his feelings of rejection at the end of the first act with “Black Hole,” but it doesn’t probe deep enough; and the use of his imaginary best friend (an astronaut called Moon Boy) is underdeveloped. After a cosmically-inspired opening number, Moon Boy just lingers in scenes only to be dispatched without comment once Auggie becomes more socially assured.

Getting to that point makes up the bulk of the plot, which follows how Auggie’s early unease yields to trust when befriended by Jack (Donovan Louis Bazemore), only to have that trust shattered when he overhears his friend speaking negatively about him behind his back. The second act explores the bullying Auggie receives from a popular group of students led by Julian (Reese Levine); but the reveal that the true source of his actions is his mother is clumsily dropped into the narrative without foreshadowing, then quickly dismissed with two words from the principal.

Wonder also explores Auggie’s effect on his family, specifically his older sister Via (the remarkable Kaylin Hedges), who talks of how she thought spending time in hospital waiting rooms was part of growing up and sings of her frustration at being ignored by her parents. She also experiences rejection when her best friend Miranda slights her when they return to high school for no apparent reason. Via discovers acting upon meeting a sweet, hunky theater nerd named Justin (Diego Cordova) and gets cast as Miranda’s understudy in a production of Our Town. This storyline is tied up a bit too neatly to seem real, but it also fits nicely with the musical’s aspirational theme. There’s something of a utopian ideal at the heart of Wonder that is to be admired.

Taibi Magar’s staging accomplishes two things: it moves the anecdotal narrative forward with speedy efficiency, thanks in part to spinning dual turntables that are put to much use, while showing great sensitivity to themes of social acceptance and community empathy. What turns out to be the musical’s most touching moment occurs when Julian realizes that because Auggie can’t change the way he looks, he needs to change the way he sees him. Her cast is sterling—terrific singers, believable actors and, best of all, a company committed to the musical’s feel-good message.

At the performance I attended, Garrett McNally conveyed the many facets of Auggie’s hopes and fears with offhand humor and emotional authenticity. His conviction to his character was so expert that it was hard to see where McNally ended and Auggie began. There is solid work from Alison Luff and Javier Muñoz as Auggie’s parents; broad comedy from Pearl Sun and Raymond J. Lee as teachers; and a more subdued turn by Melvin Abston as the school’s principal.

Of the teens, Kaylin Hedges is a wonder as the conflicted Via; Diego Cordova charms as her beau Justin, and Paravi Das plays the mysterious Miranda with compassion. Of the seventh-graders, Donovan Louis Bazemore makes for a likable BFF to Auggie, Reese Levine is a convincing bully, and Kylie Mirae Kuioka steals every scene she was in as the most enthusiastic child actress this side of Gypsy‘s Baby June. And Nathan Salstone sings beautifully as Moon Boy. (It’s a shame he isn’t given more to do.)

Wonder benefits from Matt Saunders’ sleek, boldly colored production design, which frames the action with large, pixelated screens, and is nicely complemented by Bradley King’s lighting design and Linda Cho’s contemporary costumes. Kudos to the excellent musical accompaniment by seven offstage musicians (supervised by Nadia Digiallonardo and conducted by Ryan Cantwell). The nicely honed choreography is by Katie Spellman, who works wonders with the production numbers, making them look even bigger than they actually are.

No doubt Wonder brings to mind Kimberly Akimbo, the award-winning musical about a teen with a medical condition adjusting to her life. But the issues there were far starker than they are in Wonder, which steadfastly refuses to look back at the painful route it took Auggie to get to this point in his life. Given the story’s intentions, that isn’t an issue; and what problems there are could likely be addressed during its run at the Loeb (through February 6) if it plans to have an afterlife. If rumors are true that there is talk of a Broadway run, it could find its way there to brighten a thin roster of new musicals this season, which coincidentally includes last summer’s ART hit, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York.

Despite some structural issues, Wonder succeeds where it matters most: in its message of kindness and acceptance, delivered with genuine warmth and impressive performances that make it worth seeing.

Wonder continues through February 8, 2026 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA. For more information, visit the American Repertory Theater website.

Watch Allison Luff sing You Are Beautiful from Wonder: