"Sigh Gone" Raises Awareness of Stereotypes

By Evangeline Bermas

In a response to the production of "Miss Saigon" currently playing at the Turtle Lane Playhouse in Newton, a group of Asian American artists from the Boston Progress Arts Collective put together a show titled "Missed Sigh Gone" as a form of protest on February 24 at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center in Boston.

Spearheaded by 24-year-old Jane Jung, the show was comprised of a variety of performances from artists including Judy Tan, Ash Hsie, Melissa Li, Giles Li, and Variasians. Their pieces, which ranged from songs to spoken word poetry to short plays, were inspired by the hit Broadway musical.

The performances were quite critical of "Miss Saigon," which has been denounced by Asian American activists as plain racist. It was created in the 1980's by two French men, Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, the same creative team behind "Les Miserables," and has sparked much controversy since then. Activists claim that it represents Asian men and women in stereotypical ways.

The performances in "Missed Sigh Gone" were powerful, though some more so than others. It was in the slightly more subtle pieces that the artists' messages came through the strongest. The most thought-provoking part of the evening was the slideshow created by Giles Li called "Lyrics vs. Reality." In it, there were numerous facts and statistics connected to the Vietnam War and the consequences that it brought to the people in Vietnam. It also displayed some facts about prostitution in Asia and Western's view of Asian women.

Other notable pieces were the satirical "Miss Auschwitz," in which two Vietnamese American producers discuss their upcoming musical about a love story taking place in the Auschwitz concentration camp, and "Room 317: The Remix," which is a tongue-in-cheek version of a scene in "Miss Saigon."

The Boston Progress Arts Collective hopes to raise awareness and create a dialogue through "Missed Sigh Gone."

Jung and the other artists behind the show have said that they were inspired by those activists before them.

With Asian Americans and other members of the Boston community coming out of the theater feeling moved, Jung and Boston Progress may have not only created a dialogue but also inspired future activists as well.