WORCESTER, Mass.—The Hanover Theatre was alive with anticipation as the curtain opened for Shen Yun Performing Arts on March 29.

Joe and Leslie Mackinnon enjoyed the performance in many ways. “It’s eye-catching,” Mr. Mackinnon, director of facilities at Cape Cod Community College, said. “Wow.”

Her husband agreed. “The music was beautiful. The dancing was incredible. It was wonderful—absolutely beautiful.”

“I think the erhu was the most beautiful thing to me,” he said. “It’s like it speaks to you. Beautiful.”

“It made you feel special. It was beautiful in the moment,” he said.

Mrs. Mackinnon said Shen Yun made her feel “alive.”

“Alive. Sympathetic,” Mr. Mackinnon said. “You just felt peaceful. It was beautiful. Yes, empathy. All of it was beautiful.”

He agreed that Shen Yun is bringing back “China before communism.” He noted how important it is to bring back traditional values.

“It’s very important, especially in today’s world, and knowing what Chinese communism is doing. We think it’s headed in the wrong way. Shen Yun is beautiful because it’s telling people the story of how China really wants to be and how it was.”

Mr. Mackinnon commented on the scene where the Creator arrives to save people.

“Atheism has no place. We can’t bring our possessions with us. We need to be good people so we deserve to go above.”

Mike and Rachel McArdle enjoyed the dances and many other aspects of Shen Yun’s 2025 all-new production. “We’re having a great time,” Mr. McArdle said.

The production was impressive to Mr. McArdle. “It’s amazing how they put it all together,” he said. “We would come again.”

She said the costumes were “gorgeous” and the dancers’ technical skills and training were “exquisite ... they’re so beautiful to watch.”

Mr. McArdle, vice president of residential services for an academy, was amazed at Shen Yun’s patented animated background.

Mr. McArdle, who teaches music at his academy, noted Shen Yun’s live orchestra was “very well done.”

“I would say it was extravagant and pleasurable to watch,” he added.