MO-TO-THE-ONCLE Returns To The KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival

Rochester, New York - Mo-to-the-oncle (pronounced MO-to-the-AWN-uh-kuhl) returns to the 2020 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival (Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Saturday, Sept. 26) via rochesterfringe.com, available to be viewed on-demand throughout the 12-day festival. Tickets are now on sale for $12 at rochesterfringe.com, where more information is also available.

Mo-to-the-oncle is a one-woman comedy play about a Bronx teenager who must wear a monocle after his dad loses their vision insurance. In the stage version of the show, the play traditionally unfolds through a series of monologues performed by writer and actress Melissa Cole. But for its upcoming third appearance in the now virtual Rochester Fringe, Cole says she reimagined the show to fit its New Medium.

"This isn't just a recorded version of my live stage show. I decided that I'd use technology to my advantage," Cole exclaims. "Thanks to the magic of editing, you'll be able to see my characters interact with each other in a way that wasn't possible before, so for me, Virtual Fringe gave me the opportunity to really stretch my creativity."

Although Cole bills the show as a comedy, Mo-to-the-oncle mostly grapples with serious subject matter, including race, something she says makes the show particularly timely given the country's current racial crisis. "In the past, some people have expressed that my show made them feel uncomfortable, and in one city, someone even walked out in the middle of the show-from front row center." But Cole says she embraces the controversy. "On the other end of the spectrum, I've had standing ovations and full houses. Those two starkly different reactions, together, indicate to me that I'm doing something right."

While Cole concedes that the idea of being prescribed a monocle in this day and age is incredibly unrealistic, she maintains that Mo-to-the-oncle is steeped in reality. "This is fiction and it's a satire," she says. "But what's really real is that this is my perspective as a black woman in America."

For information about Mo-to-the-oncle, visit melissacolecomedy.com.

Photo credit: Brian Harris

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