On Friday, Nov. 13, a truly unique performance will hit the stage of the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “Yes, Darling” is the musical culmination of a longtime collaboration between musicians Hayley Jane and Ryan Montbleau. What sets this performance apart from a traditional musical or a regular concert is that the writers of the songs are the actors and performers themselves.
Though “Yes, Darling” is their first official album and subsequent show together, Jane and Montbleau share a number of compatible traits that work together marvelously in this project.
First, both musicians are leaders of their own bands with their own names on the marquee. The Hayley Jane Band out of Vermont feels like a jam band fronted by a Broadway performer. Live audiences dance along to her original tunes as Jane’s backing band noodles away behind her expressive vocals that seem ripped out of a smokey nightclub from the 1930s. The Ryan Montbleau Band leans a little more on the jazz-influenced side of the singer-songwriter spectrum. Like Jane, Montbleau develops intimate connections with his audience, matching and elevating the energy of any room he plays.
Next, both artists write very narrative songs, where the lyrics are just as important as the notes played. Their songs often feel like vehicles used to drive a story right into the hearts of their listeners.
Finally, both Montbleau and Jane are just about as funny as they are talented.
Mix it all together, and you’ve got a recipe for something toe-tappingly different that can make you think, make you laugh and have you swelling with emotion.
When the duo decided to dedicate some writing time together, they didn’t know just what the project would evolve into. As their songs took shape, each one seemed to deal with similar topics involving the often funny and frequently combative intricacies of romantic relationships. The songs feel both nostalgic and new as the “couple” explores the familiar nuances of vulnerability, infatuation and past baggage through a series of folk, jazz, pop and even ska sounds.
Montbleau reflected, “It was immediately apparent that we had two strong ‘sides of a relationship’ points of view going on. It naturally lent itself to writing these kind of timeless love songs with classic style but where we could also fight and drop f-bombs and bring modern situations into the songs.”
During the process, the pair focused on those notions and ended up with a series of songs that worked as a cohesive album. But Jane, who has a background in drama, had some bigger ideas. The pair connected with Chicago-based director Dorian Weinzimmer, who had a distinct vision of bringing the songs to life through a series of music videos. Once they saw how naturally it all lent itself to a visual format, they knew they had to keep going and bring the stories from the songs and videos to live audiences.
The “Yes, Darling” stage show is a real playhouse production. The musicians play versions of themselves, and their chemistry feels so natural that you’ll question whether or not they’re a real-life couple. They have set pieces, use props and costumes and explore the stage like it’s their own little world. Unlike a traditional play, however, the members of the band are right up there with them, as though they were playing a regular old-fashioned concert.
For tickets to “Yes, Darling” visit berkshiretheatregroup.org.
