21.   That would have been enough to merit the kinds of cheers and youthful screams that greeted the company when the curtain rose again on the bowing ensemble.

22.   The audience will be standing room only, but something less than a blockbuster is expected when the curtain rises this week on the congressional Whitewater hearings.

23.   The curtain rises on a stylized version of the requisite red-and-black tango setting.

24.   The curtain had risen on a stage filled with sleek bodies in silhouetted profile in intensely orange air, not quite human in crested helmets.

25.   The curtain rises on preparations for a party in the provincial home of the Coigny family.

26.   The curtain rises.

27.   The curtain rises on van Kipnis, who coats her usual clarity with a sultry presence here until Amar Ramasar and Andrew Veyette rush in to lift her.

28.   The curtain rises this week on the dimly lit stage of the new Russia.

29.   The curtain rose on a towering showgirl, alone on a darkened stage.

30.   The curtain rose on a world beyond redemption.