ATLANTA, Ga.—An enthusiastic audience enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at a matinee at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on Jan. 13, including novelist Mez Stead, who said she enjoyed the entire show, “It was unique, breathtaking, really spectacular.”

“So you really see the good elements ... And the cultures and other time periods and good triumphing over evils, very strong, and a sense of truth winning over lies and those elements—They’re transcendent, aren’t they?” she said.

“I think just going back to those simplistic truths of good and simplicity and nobility winning the day. It just reminded me how important and how golden those truths are for stories. How we need more stories like that: true fairy tales to inspire readers and watchers,” she said.

There are common elements in all cultures that inspired Ms. Stead. “I think, for so many of us who grew up in the West, we have no sense of Chinese history, of Eastern history,” she said.

“I think it really inspires me to think of the commonality among peoples where you might feel you know nothing about China, you know nothing about Eastern culture, and yet there’s this common thread that binds us and humanity.”

Important spiritual beliefs resonated with Ms. Stead. She loved that the Creator has come to save humanity and that there is divinity in all of us. “Definitely. I’m a Christian, so that line [in the song] about the creator has come to show a way—that certainly resonated with me in a deep way,” she said.

The themes presented in Shen Yun’s performance seemed familiar to her. “I think the ideas there, like I said, were very familiar, but the trappings were different. It made me think—it makes me want to go and inspect that more,” she said.

Ms. Stead said there is much to remember about the performance: “Wow. Just how beauty never dies, truth never dies—that it will win out. I think the two go together—truth and beauty. Wherever you find beauty, there’s truth, and wherever you find truth, there’s beauty,” she said.