The cast of Kunlun Myth on stage at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago on Wednesday night. Jian Ping / for China Daily

Kunlun Myth

, a musical that combines ancient legend and a contemporary love story, kicked off a 24-day tour of the US at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago on Wednesday.

"Music is a universal language," said executive director Guo Enlong. "We hope to utilize this media to spread Chinese culture."

Kunlun Myth is produced by director Don Frantz, a veteran at Walt Disney and Broadway. Performed by the Musical China Theatre Troupe, the show first premiered in China in 2012 and has had more than 100 performances in China.

The story is set in a village in the Kunlun Mountains where a pillar between Heaven and Earth once existed. A story of love, faith and forgiveness, it follows the journey of Deng Fei, a college student from Beijing, to the mythical mountain, rekindling the conflicts of rebuilding the pillar. It is.

"I was able to follow along just fine," said Susan Huizinga, an American in the audience. "The cast had fantastic voices and the songs, especially the ballads, sounded just like a Broadway show."

The troupe had one more performance in Chicago on Thursday and will then travel to Phoenix, Denver and Los Angeles, staging a total of 16 shows.