Title: A timely tribute to Broadway.
We all know (or should know) that puzzles are scheduled long before publication. However with the recent death of Broadway ICON Steven Sondheim, it seems some outside influence created this time slot for our entertainment and reflection. And dramatically none of the eight (8) huge hits were created by Sondheim. I am however, foreshadowing the write-up, so it is time to get to work.
My internet sleuthing located Jeffrey Diton both at the Crossword Collaboration Directory* and on Facebook. It seems he is "retired and living the dream in Cary, North Carolina" though I know not his vocation. This is his world wide debut puzzle so let's give him a round of applause. (too much foreshadowing)? Not unexpectedly this puzzle does not check all the usual Friday difficulty boxes - too many words, word lengths too short - but he does bring some pizzaz. PET MD, ICEMAN, KRAUSS, LOW-RES, MIDORI , YASGUR, ALL YEAR, MISTRIAL and SLEEPERS are all solid fill. The ones in red are new. If you did not trek to Western NY on August 19, 1969, you probably don't know Max Yasgur and his farm in Bethel. N. Y. but those are stories for a different day. What he does do is include in each theme answer 2 one-word Broadway musicals. I find no commonality within the selection that determines which he chose, I hope he comes by and explains.
16A. Nightclub for seasonal workers?: ELF CABARET (10). Malls hire elves to accompany Santa and we all enjoy a night out at a cabaret, old chum. LINK 1 and LINK 2
1. Some model home residents: DOLLS. A very cute beginning.
6. Wrinkle, as one's brow: KNIT. HISTORY.
10. Rocky greetings: YOS. From the movie, not a bad romance.
13. '40s-'50s "Giant Brain": ENIAC. This is the 48th appearance of this fill in the LAT.
14. Streaming biggie: ROKU. Read all about IT.
15. Gas station convenience: MART. This one was slow in coming for me.
18. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Norway here we come.
19. Easter supply: DYE. Of course EGG fits also.
21. California athlete: ANGEL. Baseball in Anaheim.
26. Hardly well: RARE. Very nice Friday deception, not ill but not cooked much.
29. Surprise hits: SLEEPERS. This sense of the word may have originated in the world of gambling in the nineteenth century. When a card player unexpectedly drew a winning card, the card was called "a sleeper."
30. Pontificates: OPINES. C.C. has mostly eliminated that from this blog's posts.
33. Narrow strip of wood: LATH. The name derived from the spreading action, which is like pulling an accordion open. wiki
40. Top-notch: A-ONE. From astronauts HG?
41. Note in the key of B major: D-SHARP. I know nothing but B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, and A♯ are all part of the B major scale. more wiki
42. Hung jury result: MISTRIAL. A victory for a criminal defendant.
46. Pop of pop music: IGGY. An 80's phenomenon.
51. What "W" may mean: WIN. L loss.
52. Pilot or Explorer: SUV. The world has been overrun by this vehicle choice. The fact that they now can get 30 to 50 mpg or are electric has helped.
55. Gold rush town where Wyatt Earp ran the Dexter Saloon: NOME. LINK.
60. "Dagnabbit!": DRAT.
61. Wind from the French for "high wood": OBOE. The name oboe was originally hautbois, or "high, loud wood" in French, also sometimes spelled hoboy in English. The Italians transliterated the French name to oboè, and the English followed around 1770 with oboe. Oo has friends called Bo which leads me to many bad musical puns.
62. Baseball VIP: OWNER.
63. Half of a Chinese pair: YIN. I wouldn't YANG your chain about that.
64. Conference giveaways: PENS. I have so many free pens in my house but they do not last long as they are very...
65. Demanding attention: NEEDY.
Down:
1. Act: DEED. Do a good one. It
2. Just: ONLY. Takes a moment and can improve someone's
3. Long sentence: LIFE. A strined bit of incarceration humor.
4. Lakers rivals, on NBA scoreboards: LAC. The Clippers
5. Milan's La __: SCALA. Charlotte has her Ballet debut this coming Sunday.
6. Alison of bluegrass: KRAUSS. An intersting Duet.
7. Scand. land: NORway. It's back.
8. Prez after Harry: IKE. Nicknames noy initiala
9. Tsk relative: TUT. King?
10. Max who owned the Woodstock farmland: YASGUR. An interesting HISTORY.
11. Discount phrase: OR LESS. Is it ever less?
12. Pinched: STOLE.
15. "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle __: MONAE. This MOVIE
21. Top dogs: ALPHAS. They no longer are just males.
22. Wrestler-turned-actor John: CENA. Thank you all for last week, as I was unsure if "S" or "C."
23. Not seasonal: ALL YEAR.
24. Pod residents?: PEAS.
25. Website for animal owners: PET MD.
26. Hold up: ROB.
27. Fig. in lending: APR.
28. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.
31. Tinder outings: E-DATES.
32. There's a point to it: SWORD.
35. "It's not __, it's a when": AN IF.
36. __ guard: SHIN.
37. Crone: HAG.
38. Unit of energy: ERG.
39. Bond, for one: SPY.
42. Olympic skater Ito: MIDORI.
43. Certain clutch player, in sports parlance: ICEMAN.
44. Shooting competition: SKEET.
45. A bit fuzzy, as an image: LOW RES.
47. Blowing a lot: WINDY.
48. Evasive maneuver: ZIG.
49. 2001 scandal subject: ENRON.
52. Sound: SANE.
53. Secondhand: USED.
54. To a high degree: VERY.
56. Bunny __: HOP.
57. White House nickname: ABE.
58. Charged particle: ION.
59. Farm mom: EWE.
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