Tag Archives: Jake Borelli

Guillermo Díaz to Take Part in Virtual Benefit Reading of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart”

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It’s a new normal for Guillermo Díaz.

The 46-year-old Cuban-American actor is among the all-star cast for a virtual benefit reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, which will be directed by Paris Barclay.

Guillermo Diaz

The May 8 reading, which aims to raise funds for ONE Archives Foundation and Invisible Histories Project, will include a special introduction by Martin Sheen.

Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, Jeremy Pope and Jake Borelli are among the cast; Ryan O’Connell; Daniel Newman; Jay Hayden and Danielle Savr.

The reading, according to producers, will mark the first performance of Kramer’s Tony Award-winning play to be performed by a predominately BIPOC and LGBTQ cast.

“When I was approached by ONE Archives Foundation to direct a virtual reading of The Normal Heart, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Barclay. “I lived in New York through the 1980s, saw the original production with Brad Davis, and have never forgotten the experience. And through today’s lens, the story of a marginalized people pushed to activism by the onslaught of an epidemic clearly was worth telling again.”

Funds raised from this event will support ONE Archives Foundation’s LGBTQ education initiatives, including K-12 lesson plans on HIV/AIDS, teacher trainings, youth engagement, and ONE Archives Foundation’s exhibitions.

The benefit also supports Invisible Histories Project’s efforts to preserve the legacy of HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ activists through archiving, inclusion training, exhibitions, and programs about Southern LGBTQ history.

The Normal Heart chronicles the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City, based on Kramer’s cofounding the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982.

The play premiered Off Broadway at New York’s Public Theater in 1985, and was staged on Broadway by director Joel Grey and starring Joe Mantello in 2011, winning a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Ryan Murphy directed a 2014 film adaptation for HBO.

Tickets go on sale on April 8 here. The reading is scheduled for Saturday, May 8 at 5:00 pm ET.

Karamo Brown to Appear on Season 4 of Netflix’s “Dear White People”

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Karamo Brown has landed a Dear role…

The 40-year-old Cuban-Jamaican American television host, reality television personality, author and activist has joined the upcoming fourth and final season of Netflix’s Dear White People in a recurring role. Season 4 is slated to premiere in 2021.

Karamo BrownBased on Justin Simien’s acclaimed debut indie feature, Dear White People is set against the backdrop of a predominantly white Ivy League university where racial tensions bubble just below the surface. The satirical series — which picks up where the 2014 Sundance Film Festival hit left off – follows a group of Winchester University’s students of color as they navigate a diverse landscape of social injustice, cultural bias, political correctness (or lack thereof) and activism in the millennial age.

Stars Marque Richardson, Logan Browning, Brandon P. Bell, Antoinette Robertson, DeRon Horton, John Patrick Amedori and Ashley Blaine Featherson are slated to return for Season 4. The 10-episode series is produced by Lionsgate.

Brown received a 2020 Primetime Emmy nomination as Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition program for Queer Eye. He most recently starred in Freeform’s romantic comedy The Thing About Harry opposite Jake Borelli.

Brown is the co-founder of the beauty and skincare company MANTL that launched online last year and now sold nationwide in Nordstrom. He also is the author of Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope and I Am Perfectly Designed, co-written with his son Jason ‘Rachel’ Brown. Available through Luminary, Brown’s podcast, Karamo, is an in-depth look at life’s thorniest issues through the lens of his celebrity guests and fans from around the world.

Freeform to Premiere Karamo Brown’s TV Movie “The Thing About Harry” in February

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Karamo Brown is hittin’ the road this Valentine’s Day…

Freeform will premiere its road-trip rom-com The Thing About Harry, starring the 39-year-old part-Cuban American Queer Eye host and actor,will be a post-Valentine’s Day offering. 

Karamo Brown

The television movie starring Brown, Jake Borelli, Niko Terho, Britt Baronand Peter Paigeis set to premiere at 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 15, on the Disney-owned cable outlet.

Borelli portrays Sam, a handsome, funny, neurotic, intelligent young gay man who combines a scathing wit with an overly idealistic worldview. Sam came out when he was still in high school, something that took a lot of courage in his small Missouri town, but was bullied constantly. Terho plays Harry, an emotionally uncomplicated, promiscuous player who has always left a string of broken hearts in his wake. Under the surface, Harry actually yearns for love, family and stability, but the thought of commitment still terrifies him.

Brown plays Paul, an exceedingly well put-together yet overbearing and pretentious gay man. 

“It’s been an honor to partner with Freeform in making great television with LGBTQ+ characters as leads,” The Thing About Harry executive producers Paige, Greg Gugliotta and F.J. Denny in a statement. “True equality can only be achieved when you see yourself reflected in the movies, music and stories that paint our culture. 

“As young gay men in the ’90s, whenever a rom-com opened, we would watch the leading lady fall in love and imagine what it would be like if the boy was saying all those things to another boy. We’ve always wanted to make a movie — an unabashedly romantic comedy — that queer boys wouldn’t have to translate. It’s rewarding to take the genre to a new, all-inclusive level.”

Karamo Brown to Star in Freeform’s Valentine’s Day Road Trip Movie “The Thing About Harry”

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There’s a new Thing in Karamo Brown’s future… 

The 39-year-old part-Cuban American reality television personality, actor and activist is set to appear in the Freeform’s Valentine’s Day-themed road-trip movie The Thing About Harry.

Karamo Brown

Jake Borelli and newcomer Niko Terho lead the cast, with Brown, Britt Baron and the film’s director Peter Paige also starring in the romantic comedy.

Production on the movie underway in Chicago for a February premiere.

Borelli will play Sam, a handsome, funny, neurotic, intelligent young gay man who combines a scathing wit with an overly idealistic worldview. Sam came out when he was still in high school, something that took a lot of courage in his small Missouri town, but was bullied constantly. Terho will portray Harry, an emotionally uncomplicated, promiscuous player who has always left a string of broken hearts in his wake. Under the surface, Harry actually yearns for love, family and stability, but the thought of commitment still terrifies him.

Karamo will play Paul, an exceedingly well put-together yet overbearing and pretentious gay man.

“It’s been an honor to partner with Freeform in making great television with LGBTQ+characters as leads,” The Thing About Harry executive producers Paige, Greg Gugliottaand F.J. Dennyin a statement. “True equality can only be achieved when you see yourself reflected in the movies, music and stories that paint our culture. “As young gay men in the ’90s, whenever a rom-com opened, we would watch the leading lady fall in love and imagine what it would be like if the boy was saying all those things to another boy. We’ve always wanted to make a movie — an unabashedly romantic comedy — that queer boys wouldn’t have to translate. It’s rewarding to take the genre to a new, all-inclusive level.”

Brown, who appeared in 2004’s MTV reality show The Real World: Philadelphia, currently appears as the culture expert on the Emmy-winning Netflix series Queer Eye.