Relative difficulty: Way Too Easy, even for a Tuesday
- TUPPERWARE (17A: Brand of kitchen storage containers)
- SOCIALIST (24A: The second "S" of U.S.S.R.)
- HALLOWEEN (50A: When the skeletons in one's closet might be brought out)
- FEDERALIST (61A: Alexander Hamilton, politically)
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (Chinese: 京劇; pinyin: Jīngjù), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines instrumental music, vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century.[1] The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. [...]The Chou (丑) is a male clown role. The Chou usually plays secondary roles in a troupe. Indeed, most studies of Beijing opera classify the Chou as a minor role. The name of the role is a homophone of the Mandarin Chinese word chou, meaning "ugly". This reflects the traditional belief that the clown's combination of ugliness and laughter could drive away evil spirits. Chou roles can be divided into Wen Chou, civilian roles such as merchants and jailers, and Wu Chou, minor military roles. The Wu Chou combines comic acting and acrobatics. Chou characters are generally amusing and likable, if a bit foolish. Their costumes range from simple for characters of lower status to elaborate, perhaps overly so, for high-status characters. Chou characters wear special face paint, called xiaohualian, that differs from that of Jing characters. The defining characteristic of this type of face paint is a small patch of white chalk around the nose. This can represent either a mean and secretive nature or a quick wit.
Beneath the whimsical persona of the Chou, a serious connection to the form of Beijing opera exists. The Chou is the character most connected to the guban, the drums and clapper commonly used for musical accompaniment during performances. The Chou actor often uses the guban in solo performance, especially when performing Shu Ban, light-hearted verses spoken for comedic effect. The clown is also connected to the small gong and cymbals, percussion instruments that symbolize the lower classes and the raucous atmosphere inspired by the role. Although Chou characters do not sing frequently, their arias feature large amounts of improvisation. This is considered a license of the role, and the orchestra will accompany the Chou actor even as he bursts into an unscripted folk song. However, due to the standardization of Beijing opera and political pressure from government authorities, Chou improvisation has lessened in recent years. The Chou has a vocal timbre that is distinct from other characters, as the character will often speak in the common Beijing dialect, as opposed to the more formal dialects of other characters. (wikipedia)
- 39D: Baseball franchise with a bell in its logo (PHILLIES) — that Taco Bell sponsorship has really gone too far*
- 47A: Force of nature? (GRAVITY) — nice play on words. Less nice was the phrasing on the HALLOWEEN clue ([When the skeletons in one's closet might be brought out]). It's the "be brought" that feels unnatural. Why not just use "come out" and maybe put a "?" on the end of the clue if you think it's not literal enough. If you're playing on the idea of metaphorical skeletons in one's closet (which this clue certainly is), then it seems more likely that you'd refer to their coming out (usually against your will, since you've been hiding them) than their being "brought out." Basically, "brought out" ruins any misdirection possibility here by making it obvious that you're talking about literal things in a literal closet.
- 32D: Student-run class? (GYM)— in that students ... run ... in GYM class. Or they used to. Sometimes.
- 62D: Name found in "Yale library," appropriately (ELI) — look, if you're new, or newish, to solving, then you may as well prepare yourself for an onslaught of Yale shit. The puzzle cannot lay off. Half the constructors went there, I think. The reason "appropriately" is in this clue is that a Yalie (a word you'll see in crosswords eventually) is sometimes known as an ELI (a word you are currently seeing in crosswords), based on the first name of the college's namesake: ELIHU (which you've seen in crosswords twice this year already). ELIHU Yale was a Welsh merchant who gave a considerable amount of money to the school, so they named the school after him, and, well, that's the root of all this Yale madness. Speaking of "root," there's also an ELIHU Root (no relation, and no connection to Yale that I know of).