Broadway actor returns to give master class at UW-Stevens Point

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) - Sam McLellan, A UW-Stevens Point graduate currently in the Broadway touring production of “Anastasia” returned to his alma mater Wednesday to give a master class while the show performed at the Grand Theater in Wausau.

McLellan said acting wasn’t always on his radar, though. “In high school, I was playing football and one of my teammates said, ‘Hey, you should audition for the musical,’ and I thought, ‘Okay, all right, I’ll try it out.’ Immediately, I was hooked,” said McLellan.

He graduated from UWSP in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre. Knowing the show was coming to Wisconsin, McLellan wanted to get in contact. “I cannot speak more highly about the professors that I had when I was here,” said McLellan.

He said there’s a lot of nostalgia to being back on campus. “I walked inside with one of the faculty and went into the Jenkins Theater, and kind of had a moment just standing on the stage, just remembering some of the shows we did there,” McLellan said.

McLellan plays the character of Dmitri in his latest endeavor, “Anastasia.” It’s the first show he’s been able to do in a long time. He says it’s good to be back on the boards.

“You know the pandemic happened, so we were shut down for a while, and now here I am again, touring the country with Anastasia,” McLellan said.

He credits his midwestern upbringing for the ability to find empathy for his characters; and said that quality has been instrumental in the progression of his career.

“The thing that makes people stand out are the people who don’t worry about that – the people who go in and are just themselves. We have so much to offer, and I think that you know, being from the Midwest is an asset. It isn’t something that should hold you back,” McLellan said.

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