Musical 'Wonder' brings a tale of empathy and acceptance to A.R.T.

On a recent Friday in December, the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge was buzzing. The cast and crew were rehearsing for the new musical “Wonder,” based on the best-selling children’s novel by R. J. Palacio. A group of actors was running through a scene many of us can relate to: the dreaded school picture day.

Main character August ‘Auggie’ Pullman doesn’t want to get his picture taken, so he’s avoiding the camera. As the photographer gets ready to snap his shutter, the audience overhears Auggie’s classmates talking.

“Julian and Amos say some pretty mean things like ‘Hope his face doesn't break the camera,’” 11-year-old Max Voehl said. He is one of two actors who play Auggie.

Voehl relates to this scene in more ways than one. Like Auggie, he has a facial difference — a cleft lip and palate.

“ He looks different and sometimes he gets bullied,” Voehl said. “And it's happened to me sometimes.”

Like Voehl, actor Garrett McNally also relates to the role he’s portraying. The 16-year-old has Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes someone’s facial features to be underdeveloped, just like Auggie. He has enjoyed sharing the role with Voehl.

“It feels really nice to have someone who has similar experiences and struggles as me,” McNally said.

The musical follows Auggie as he enters school for the first time. The 7th-grader was homeschooled up until then, partially because of the physical toll Treacher’s Collins can cause. Auggie, like Voehl and McNally, has had numerous surgeries.

This was a big reason why Voehl’s mom, Jeanne Voehl, originally said “no” when one of their doctors suggested Max try out for the musical.

“I was worried that it would hit too close to home,” Jeanne said. “In so many ways, the Pullman's journey reflects our own family's journey.”

But she said Max quickly changed her mind.

“He turned around and hit me with the overall premise of the whole show, which is, ‘it would be so cool to be part of something that teaches kindness and tells people that we just want to be treated like everyone else,’” Jeanne said. “And I said, ‘What am I supposed to say to that?’”

Max Voehl said he likes playing Auggie. “Playing a character with a facial difference, it just feels like me.”

Voehl and McNally’s performances represent a first for “Wonder.” The novel was first made into a movie, starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. But the actor playing Auggie, Jacob Tremblay, didn’t have a real facial difference — he wore a mask cast from a former patient of Pat Chibbaro. Chibbaro is a pediatric nurse practitioner and one of the consultants brought on to work on the musical. She said true representation starts with the people onstage.

“How do we get more people with facial differences in theater?” Chibbaro asked. “And not only playing a person with a facial difference, but just playing any role.”

Dina Zuckerberg agreed. She’s the director of family programs for the nonprofit myFace and also consulted on the musical. Zuckerberg has a facial difference and says Auggie’s story changed her life. After reading the book, Zuckerberg and myFace founded the Wonder Project, which goes into schools and teaches kids about kindness and standing up to bullies.

“ I think everybody at one point or another has felt left out,” Zuckerberg said. “I think that's what makes ‘Wonder’ so appealing to so many people.”

In “Wonder,” bullying is a big part of Auggie’s story. He’s teased by the kids at school — and ostracized by their parents. One even photoshops him out of the school picture. In another scene, Auggie walks in on his best friend Jack talking to Julian and Amos, the kids who were mean on picture day. Jack joins in on the bullying.

Heartbroken, Auggie hides in the bathroom, then misses school for several days. McNally said he luckily hasn't been bullied.

“I've had a lot of people who saw me for who I was,” McNally said.

He said he wanted to audition because he wanted to tell Auggie’s story with real representation. “Wonder” shows that people with differences don’t need to change the way they look, he said. “People just need to change the way they see.”

McNally’s mom, Julie McNally, said she feels a heavy responsibility to the facial difference community, but at the same time, she loves watching her son have fun onstage.

“I think it's a really important opportunity to be able to represent the community. And I just want to make sure that we all do it right,” Julie said. “He's having the time of his life up there, and that just reminds me that it's also OK to just enjoy it.”

Jeanne Voehl agreed.

“ Authentic representation should not and cannot be a trend,” she said. “ It's a responsibility that we all have to our future generations to promote inclusion and let people know that they can do anything.”

She said the show has been good for her family.

“It has brought up a lot of things that I would not necessarily love to think about on the daily,” Voehl said. “But it's been emotional in a good way because Max is not just performing here. He is helping to tell a story that reflects his own life and our history as a family, and it's been really healing.”

American Repertory Theater’s “Wonder” runs through Feb. 8 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge.