''Burlesk King'' is the second film in the gay-themed trilogy of

Mel Chionglo Carmelo Chionglo (July 16, 1946 – September 21, 2019), better known as Mel Chionglo, was a Filipino film director and production designer. He has directed more than 40 films since 1981. From 1966 to 1976, he worked and studied acting and di ...

and

Ricky Lee Ricardo Lee (born as March 19, 1948) is a Filipino screenwriter, journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was conferred the Order of National Artists of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts in 2022. Starting in 1973, he has written more ...

about the lives of macho dancers, men who work as strippers in Manila's gay bars. The first is '' Sibak: Midnight Dancers''; the third is ''

Twilight Dancers ''Twilight Dancers'' is the last installment of director Mel Chionglo and writer Ricky Lee's trilogy about Macho Dancers. The first part was ''Sibak: Midnight Dancers'' in 1994, and the second part was ''Burlesk King'' in 1999. The trilogy took in ...

''. Other films exploring the same theme are Lino Brocka's ''

Macho Dancer Macho Dancer is a 1988 Philippine film, directed by Lino Brocka. It explores the realities of a young, poor, rural gay man, who after being dumped by his American boyfriend, is forced to support himself and his family in Manila's seamy red-light ...

'' (1988) and Brillante Mendoza's '' Masahista'' (''The Masseur'', 2005).

Plot

Harry went to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

with his friend James to exact vengeance on his abusive father who used to pimp him and killed his mother. He ended up working as a

Macho dancer Macho Dancer is a 1988 Philippine film, directed by Lino Brocka. It explores the realities of a young, poor, rural gay man, who after being dumped by his American boyfriend, is forced to support himself and his family in Manila's seamy red-light ...

in a gay club and became involved with a gay writer and a hooker. When he set out to look for his father to avenge his mother's death, he found him dying of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

in a shack in squatter's area and told him that his mother was alive after all. He looked for his mother and got reunited with her who taught him to forgive his father. His father eventually dies.

Cast

*Rodel Velayo as Harry *Leonardo Litton as James *

Elizabeth Oropesa Elizabeth Oropesa (born July 17, 1954), also known as La Oropesa, or "Boots" to friends is a Filipina actress. She was a Grand Slam Best Actress winner for ''Bulaklak Ng Maynila'' (1999). She was crowned as Miss Luzon of the Miss Republic of th ...

as Betty *

Raymond Bagatsing Ramon "Raymond" San Diego Bagatsing III is a Filipino actor, model and aspiring politician. Having jumpstarted his acting career in the early 90s, he is most notable for the role of Jaime Laurel in the hit ABS-CBN series ''Pusong Ligaw''. Ea ...

as Mario *

Cherry Pie Picache Cherry Pie Sison Picache (born May 27, 1970) is a Filipino actress who has starred television and in mainstream and independent films and has worked as a print and TV commercial model for Palmolive, Camay, and Eskinol. Cherry Pie is notable ...

as Aileen *Gino Ilustre as Michael *Nini Jacinto as Brenda *

Joonee Gamboa Joonee Gamboa (born Jose Espineli Gamboa Jr.; August 7, 1936) is a Filipino actor. As veteran actor, he appeared in more than 145 movies and television shows. Life and career Gamboa won the Best Supporting Actor in the 1977 Metro Manila Film Fe ...

as Miong *

Joel Lamangan Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes '' The Flor Contemplacion Story'', ''Sidhi'', '' Deathrow'', ''Hubog'', '' Aishte Imasu 1941'', '' Blue Moon'' an ...

as Odette *Tonio Ortigas as Leo *

Ross Rival Rosauro Reyes Salvador (October 7, 1945 – November 16, 2007), known professionally as Ross Rival, was a former actor and father of JonJon Hernandez, Joseph Salvador, Rosauro Luis G. Salavador, Luchi Salvador-Joson, Sahara Shyla G. Salvador a ...

*Frannie Zamora *Joseph Buncalan *Arthur Cassanova *Joey Galvez *Joseph Pe *Sofia Valdez *Aila Marie

External links

* 1999 films Philippine LGBT-related films Tagalog-language films 1999 drama films LGBT-related drama films 1999 LGBT-related films Gay-related films Films directed by Mel Chionglo {{LGBT-drama-film-stub