Garrett McNally and Donovan Louis Bazemore in Wonder. Photo: Hawver and Hall

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Based on the novel “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio and the Lionsgate and Mandeville film Wonder
Book by Sarah Ruhl
Music and Lyrics by A Great Big World (Ian Axel and Chad King)
Directed by Taibi Magar
Scenic design by Matt Saunders
Featuring: Melvin Abston, Kaylin Hedges, Alison Luff, Garrett McNally, Javier Muñoz, Nathan Salstone, Max Voehl 

December 17th, 2025 – February 8th, 2026
Tickets
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Online playbill

Review by Maegan Clearwood

This production depicts bullying and contains fog, haze, strobe, and flashing lights. Recommended for ages 9+.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — With the debut of Wonder: The Musical, the A.R.T. was simultaneously presented with a monumental opportunity and an obstacle. The source material, R.J. Palacio’s 2012 book of the same name, has been lauded as a groundbreaking story of empathy through its first-person portrayal of Auggie, a preteen boy with a facial difference. A Google search for reviews brings up words like “uplifting,” “heart-rending,” and “inspirational.” 

These very terms that are used to praise the novel are, however, at the root of frequent critique from members of the disability* rights community. Stories about disability far too often rehash tired tropes, portraying disabled characters as “objects of inspiration or charity,” as Professor Ari D. Ne’eman noted in a Harvard School of Public Health panel about the musical, rather than complex people in their own right. These tropes point to the fact that such stories are about disabled people, but not by or for them. (Editor’s note: We in the disabled community call this Inspiration Porn, a term coined by comedian and activist Stella Young. Check out her 2014 TEDx Talk. )  Continue reading →