Ignoring the negativity to follow her passion, Hailey Patrick shines in her role of Johanna in the play “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”. 

Patrick is a sophomore here at Sonoma State University. She is a Music Performance major with an emphasis on voice. 

Patrick will be staring in her second major role in her performance of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” but getting there has not been the easiest.

 Patrick first fell in love with musical theatre at a young age by watching the beloved collection of Disney movies, her favorite being “Beauty and the Beast”. She would dress up to dance and sing to the soundtrack of the movie. 

Her grandma then took her to see her first real live performance.

“My first show was seeing ‘Mary Poppins.’ My grandma bought me a ticket for Christmas and I went absolutely crazy for just how beautiful a stage production was. After that I just constantly wanted to do theater,” Patrick said.

Patrick has been performing in plays since her freshman year of high school. Though she fell in love with theater, some of her memories from those days are not the fondest. 

“When I got into high school I auditioned for the show that was going on,” Patrick said. “I actually was cast in the chorus all my time in high school because my director had a body bias, so since I was like a bigger looking woman she told me I was masculine looking and she told me that I would never play a female romantic lead and that totally hurt my self esteem.” 

Patrick’s freshman year at Sonoma State was a major turning point for her theatre career. She auditioned for the main lead of Charlie Brown’s sister Sally in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and with great shock she got the role. 

This weekend, she will be performing in her second main lead playing Johanna in “Sweeney Todd.” 

“Last year in ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ was my first ever lead, my first time speaking on stage,” she said. “Then Johanna in ‘Sweeney Todd’ is a romantic lead so it’s my second lead of all time and it’s been here.” 

Patrick has been preparing for several months for her dream role of Johanna in the production of “Sweeney Todd.” She gets to do it side by side with her best friend Noah Evans, who is playing the main role of Sweeney Todd.  

“This is actually the second time working with Hailey now in a show, and just like the year before, she is an absolute gem. The way she handles herself on stage is so professional, and her voice is absolutely stunning,” Evans said. “My favorite part about her is how truly kind and genuine she is. She’s my absolute best friend in the world, and she is and always will be a ray of sunshine.” 

Patrick is beloved by many of her castmates and they see how hardworking she is.

“Working with Hailey is an experience I won’t forget. She works incredibly hard for perfection and you can see that when you see the show,” said cast mate Vivian Knee.

Patrick went from being in the background of the chorus for four years to now in just the two years she’s been in college, landing two major lead roles. 

She is the epitome of having confidence in yourself and hard work pays off. 

Go see Patrick and her castmates perform in “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” in Person Theater. 

This will be the last weekend you will be able to see them perform.