NEW YORK—From the moment they arrived at their front orchestra seats, William and Lisa noticed “divine presence” in the theater.

“I feel I have experienced the presence of God here. The presence of God, who is watching over us, protecting us, who loves us, and who is encouraging us to be truly human, to be truly loving, and also just to be truly creative and bring forth all of this beauty,” said Father Elder.

“It’s great to see that they (the traditions) are being kept alive and we hope they’re going to contribute to the development of culture in the future,” said Father Elder.

Above and beyond the beautiful staging, costumes, and music, Ms. Petrucco found that the performers themselves exude extraordinary goodness.

“The deep spirituality of it is something that really impresses me—belief in the divine, belief in the goodness of human beings, especially in the face of communism and all that they’re doing, it’s just so amazing,” commented Father Elder.

Shen Yun also highlights classic stories of good versus evil, where the faithful ultimately prevail.

“You could feel the darkness coming and just the light overcoming it and you could feel that inside your heart as a human being, right here, you could feel it, very much so as you’re watching,” recalled Ms. Petrucco.

“When God is present, he does things for people. He can heal them, he can do all sorts of things,” commented Father Elder. “But even just the beauty and the joy people experience, that ultimately comes from God also.”

Ms. Petrucco felt restorative energy from the performance that was “very strong,” unlike an ordinary performance.

“I think that people can experience the healing. When you come to something like this, your mind is going to slow down a little and you’re going to relax, you’re going to tune out all the noise, so there’s an aspect to it that’s just entertainment, but when you’re talking about this particular performance, there’s something extra. ... When you’re open to having God’s presence come inside of you and heal you, you can really experience it.”

Father Elder left the theater feeling that his outlook on life has “been renewed.”

“I feel happier, I feel more committed to God, and to serving people and to building up culture and building up civilization,” he said.