`Miss Saigon' Protest

As the audience arrives at the Paramount Theatre for tonight's preview of "Miss Saigon," they may be greeted by pickets.

The Asian and Pacific Islander Women's Network, an informal advocacy group of about 30 local women, plans to protest what they view as the hit Broadway musical's "sexist and racist stereotyping of Asians."

The protest is scheduled from 7 to 8 p.m., before a performance benefiting Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

"Miss Saigon," which depicts the romance of a young Southeast Asian woman and an American G.I. during the Vietnam War and the fate of their mixed-race child, has also been picketed in other U.S. cities.

According to Network member Denise Tung Sharify, "It perpetuates a lot of myths, especially that Asian women are subservient, docile victims. We feel stereotypes like this promote racism and sexism, and can lead to more oppression and violence."