The rake of the auditorium seating is just as generous, and the stained-plywood walls cut into loosely rearranged jigsaw pieces shade pleasantly from honey hues at the back to dark mahogany at the stage's edge, a playful spatial echo of the houselights dimming.

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GARCIA-NAVARRO: Dressed in a dark blue suit on a stage swathed in red velvet and Mexican flags, Lopez-Obrador was presented with a presidential sash and took an oath of office where he promised to act in the national best interest.

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And the Dark Energy Survey is a big part of Stage III.

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At one point, Mr. Saied says, the lights in a packed ballroom went dark, with spotlights trained only on the stage, where several speakers sat.

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"On stage, I am in the dark, " she said.

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Or maybe they can be found strumming and tooting away in rooms behind and under the stage ("Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark" and "Jersey Boys, " respectively).

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This setting a classic example of why Venice works so well on screen: its dark, atmospheric courtyards and streets are perfectly suited as a stage for the wry Shakespearean dialogue between Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons.

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Catherine Morris, curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, sat on a Brooklyn Museum stage with Ono, age 79, in her iconic black tilted fedora and lowered dark shades.

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Elsewhere, the Quay Brothers, celebrated for their dark, disjointed films and animations, will team up with Russian-born violinist Alina Ibragimova to stage chamber music in a promenade setting.

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