LEGENDS returns to Segerstrom Hall on May 30 with its new chapter, Chang’e Flies to the Moon！
Ahead of the premiere, composer-conductor He Bin reveals five must-see highlights, showing how the production reimagines a familiar myth with fresh emotion and breathtaking stage power.
Myth Renewed • Feelings Deepened
Bin He said Chang’e Flies to the Moon was chosen because Mid-Autumn is familiar to many in mainstream America, even if Chang’e’s story is not.
This new LEGENDS production goes beyond myth to reveal its deeper themes of longing, choice, sacrifice, and reunion.
Onstage, Chang’e is more than a moon goddess. She is a woman of strength, feeling, and sacrifice. Audiences will see not just a familiar legend, but its deeper emotional core.
Six Acts • Hearts Drawn
A second highlight is the show’s six-movement arc, building from Hou Yi Shoots the Suns to Mid-Autumn Reunion.
It moves in waves—power, feeling, drama, and warmth—drawing audiences deeper through emotion and pacing, not just spectacle.
Seventeen Sounds • Sights in Sync
A third highlight is the sound of 17 Chinese and Western instruments sharing one stage.
Bin He said trumpet and drums drive Hou Yi’s heroism, hulusi and saxophone shape the romance, and xiao, harp, and guzheng bring mystery to the celestial scenes.
For him, instruments are not just accompaniment, but character and imagery in sound.
Real Meets Dream • Stage Takes Flight
A fourth highlight is the show’s cross-disciplinary staging. Chang’e Flies to the Moon blends dance, martial arts, rhythmic gymnastics, aerials, and multimedia to bring the myth to life.
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This year also features a more demanding aerial duet, adding greater tension to Chang’e’s ascent and the chase.
Audiences will not just watch the story—they will feel drawn into a myth awakened by light and music.
Scale Grows • Live Wins
A fifth highlight is the production’s scale and live precision: six movements, about 360 pages of score, and nearly 200 performers, including an 80-member orchestra, brought together by teams from North America and Beijing.
What makes it even harder is that dancers rehearse to demo tracks, but perform to a live orchestra, while visuals are triggered in real time to match the music.
Every striking moment onstage is the result of long rehearsal and exact timing.
Bin He said that is what makes Chang’e Flies to the Moon different: it does not simply stage a familiar myth, but fuses music, dance, martial arts, aerials, animation, live orchestra, and emotion into one theatrical dream.
For those who have never seen a LEGENDS musical, his invitation is simple: some shows must be experienced in the theater.
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