Wisconsin native stars in ‘The Book of Mormon’

WISCONSIN — Sam McLellan first saw “The Book of Mormon” when he was in high school. McLellan and his sister went to Chicago to see the show.

McLellan, who grew up in Wautoma, Wis., had done musicals at school but had never seen a production to such a level before.

“After seeing ‘Book of Mormon,’ I was like, ‘Oh man. Convinced. I gotta be in that some day. This is perfect for me,’” he said.

Sam McLellan and company in “The Book of Mormon” North American Tour. (Julieta Cervantes)

The show has been on McLellan’s radar ever since, and he said he auditioned any time an oppurtunity opened with the show.

“The story at its core is about two young Mormon missionaries who are sent out on their two-year mission to a very unexpected place. They end up dealing with a lot of conflicts with their faith, with their community they get thrust into. If you know Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of ‘South Park,’ they wrote this show, so it’s filled with a lot of in your face comedy, but everything is built upon an incredibly beautiful story. Despite the outlandishness of some of the comedy, it’s coming from a story that has so much to say about humanity,” McLellan said.

Sam McLellan in “The Book of Mormon” North American Tour. (Julieta Cervantes)

A few years ago, his dream came to fruition. He plays Elder Price in the national tour of “The Book of Mormon,” and has been with the show for about four seasons.

“It’s amazing. It’s an incredible honor to be part of such a longstanding theater product, such an amazing brand and such a fun show. People just have a blast seeing it all the time,” McLellan said. “What’s really unique about touring it is across the country [is] people experience it in a different way. People react to different things … It’s fun to see culturally how things change across the country and which particular things people appreciate about the show the most.”

Traveling the road, performing for countless people, is something that once seemed nearly impossible to McLellan.

McLellan attended Wautoma High School, where he also did his first musical.

He went to his choir director and told him he wished he could this for a living.

“This is how under a rock I was living,” McLellan recalled. “I had no idea that people still did Broadway shows. … I said to him, ‘I wish I could do this for a job,’ and he was like, ‘You can.’”

His choir director sat him down and showed him YouTube videos of new shows and Broadway performers on a classroom SMART Board.

His teacher helped him put together an audition package to audition for college programs to earn a bachelor’s fine arts degree.

Those auditions proved to be successful. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and earned his BFA.

Jewell Noel, Sam McLellan and Diego Enrico in “The Book of Mormon” North American Tour. (Julieta Cervantes)

Almost immediately after graduation, he said, he packed up and moved to New York City to pursue his career.

Returning to Wisconsin to perform with the national tour of “The Book of Mormon” is not only exciting — he has friends and family members who will get to see him on stage — but also “validating.”

Despite support he has received from people like his high school choir director, there were plenty of other people who told McLellan he would never make it.

“Coming from a small town in Wisconsin, there were very few people that thought this was a good idea for me to go into theater,” he explained. “In fact, there was a lot of people actively telling me this wasn’t gonna work and I was really stupid for making this decision. I had to go through four years of college and move to New York City and it took a couple years to get my career like really moving, so it was a long time that I had to deal with people being super unconvinced that I was ever going to be a success. So it’s validating to be able to go back and stand on my own turf and go, ‘Look at me. I made it. ‘“

Diego Enrico and Sam McLellan in “The Book of Mormon” North American Tour. (Julieta Cervantes)

McLellan said he hopes Wisconsin kids who see him in the show, or even hear about him being in the tour, can look to him for inspiration and reassurance.

“I think people who are discouraging toward you for wanting to pursue something you love, that’s more of a reflection of their own disappointmnet in themselves than it is about your lack of ability,” he said. “If it’s something that really matters to you, then you’ll find a way to make it work. … I’ve realized there is room for anybody that wants it. That wants to work hard. That wants to dedicate themselves to it. There’s work for those people. …

“If there’s any kids reading this that live in a small town in Wisconsin, I encourage them to pursue their dreams. I encourage them to take what they see in me as an example of it being completely possible,” McLellan added.

As for what audiences take away from the show itself, he said many may be surprised.

“It’s a story about unity, love, togetherness, despite your circumstances and I think that’s what people end up coming away with, is realizing they came in for a laugh and they left feeling change. That’s why the show has persisted for as long as it has and why it does so well. It captivates people in the exact opposite way they were expecting it to,” McLellan said.