Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Open Call

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Open Call

Constructor: Amie Walker

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• CHIC (1A: "___-a-cherry cola" (nonsense drink in a Savage Garden song)) Savage Garden is the Australian pop duo of Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones. This clue is a reference to their 1996 hit song, "I Want You," which contains the lyric "Sweet like a CHIC-a-cherry cola."
• CANAL (17A: Bruges waterway) Bruges is a city in Belgium; it is the capital of the province of West Flanders. Bruges is a port city along the North Sea. CANALs wind through the city, some of which date back to the 12th century. The historic center of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although I wasn't familiar with the city of Bruges, the "waterway" part of the clue served as a pretty good hint.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• COW (5A: One might moo in a regional accent) Here's a fun animal fact! This is absolutely true. After talking to some farmers who thought their COWs had distinguishable moos, a researcher in London set out to study whether COWs moo with a regional accent. The study revealed that there are regional differences in how COWs sound. This same phenomenon has been observed with birds. Hooray for science! If you'd like to test whether you can tell the difference between COWs from America, Scotland, and New Zealand, check out this fun video.
• TWOS (8A: Rarely seen bills) The U.S. two-dollar bill features Thomas Jefferson on one side, and John Trumbull's painting Declaration of Independence on the other side. With the exception of a ten-year hiatus from 1966 to 1976, the United States has had a two-dollar bill since 1862. The use of the $2 bill has never caught on, partly because most businesses have banking practices that don't include this denomination. I know that this clue is correct, and TWOS are rarely seen, overall. However, I happen to have a few in my desk drawer at the moment (that I pulled out to take this photo!). My dad was a fan of TWOS. He always kept $2 bills in his wallet, and would use them for tips and birthday money.

• GAGA (28A: "Born This Way" singer Lady ___) Lady GAGA released her song, "Born This Way," in 2011. "My mama told me when I was young / 'We are alll born superstars...'"
• ELSIE (32A: "Despicable Me" actor Fisher) ELSIE Fisher voiced Agnes (the youngest of the three girls) in the first two movies of the Despicable Me franchise: Despicable Me (2010) and Despicable Me 2 (2013).
• CANDACE BUSHNELL (37A: "Sex and the City" author) The book Sex and the City, published in 1996, is an anthology of columns that CANDACE BUSHNELL wrote for The New York Observer from 1994 to 1996. The columns were based on the experiences she and her friends had as single women in their thirties living in New York City. The book became the basis of the TV series and 2008 movie of the same name, the 2010 movie Sex and the City 2, and the revival TV series And Just Like That....
• ONE (40A: "No ___ Is Alone" ("Into the Woods" song)) Into the Woods is a 1987 musical by Stephen Sondheim that intertwines the plots of several fairy tales. The song, "No ONE Is Alone" is the musical's penultimate song, and is sung by Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Baker, and Jack.
• SALEM (41A: "The Crucible" setting) The Crucible is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller. The play tells the story of the SALEM witch trials that occurred in 1962 and 1963. The Crucible won a Tony Award for Best Play. Arthur Miller also wrote the screenplay for the 1996 movie, The Crucible, which was based on his play.
• STU (46A: "Rugrats" dad) Although I have never watched the animated TV series, Rugrats (either the original or the reboot), or its spinoff, All Grown Up!, I have written about it several times. This enabled me to remember that STU Pickles is the dad in the series. STU, who is an absent-minded toy inventor, is married to Didi, and is the dad of Tommy and Dil.
• ANG (57A: "Hulk" director Lee) The 2003 movie Hulk is one of ANG Lee's many directing credits. ANG Lee has won two Academy Awards for Best Director, for Brokeback Mountain (2006) and Life of Pi (2013).
• PIES (62A: "Waitress" and "Sweeney Todd" props) Waitress is a 2015 musical written by Sara Bareilles. It is based on a 2007 movie of the same name. Sweeney Todd is a 1979 StephenSondheim musical based on a 1973 play of the same name by Christopher Bond. Both of these musicals feature PIES as props – many different kinds of PIES in Waitress, and meat PIES in Sweeney Todd.
• ALL (63A: "Is it cool that I said ___ that? / Is it chill that you're in my head?" ("Delicate" lyric)) "Is it cool that I said ALL that? / Is it chill that you're in my head?" is a lyric from Taylor Swift's 2018 song, "Delicate."
• FOE (66A: "But you're neither friend nor ___ / Though I can't seem to let you go" ("Gravity" lyric)) "But you're neither friend nor FOE / Though I can't seem to let you go" is a line from the 2009 song, "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. Today I learned there are a lot of songs titled "Gravity."
• CHICKPEAS (4D: Legumes in chana masala) Chana masala is a dish made of CHICKPEAS, onion, tomatoes, ghee, and curry-like spices. The dish originated from the Indian subcontinent. 
• SCUM (14D: "Rebel ___" ("Star Wars" fan film)) A fan film is just what it sounds like – a film created by fans rather than the official holders of the copyright for the source material. As one might imagine, there's a great deal of variation in the quality of fan films. Rebel SCUM is a fan film based on Star Wars that was released on YouTube in 2016. It is set during the timeline of The Empire Strikes Back. The nine-minute video has been viewed over 2.3 million times and has received several awards..
• ASL (31D: Language in a Deaf Broadway performance) Deaf Broadway is an organization formed in March 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is Deaf-founded and Deaf-led, and their mission is to make works of classical musical theater accessible to those whose native language is American Sign Language (ASL). Here's a sample of their work for you to check out: the song "Seasons of Love" from the musical, Rent.
• CAPO (53D: Ukulele accessory) A CAPO is a device that's attached to the neck of a stringed instrument such as a ukulele, guitar, or banjo. The CAPO shortens the length of the playable strings, thus raising the pitch.
• A few other answers I especially enjoyed:
  • THAT'S GENIUS (8D: "Such a smart idea!")
  • SNEAK PEEK (34D: Rhyming preview)
  • CAMEO (38D: Brief appearance)

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• CAN'T YOU TELL (19A: "I'm being so obvious, right?")
• CANDACE BUSHNELL (37A: "Sex and the City" author)
• CAPITOL HILL (53A: D.C. legislative hub)

OPEN CALL: The word CALL has been OPENed, in a way, by each theme answer: CAN'T YOU TELL, CANDACE BUSHNELL, and CAPITOL HILL.

In the world of theater, an OPEN CALL is an audition that's OPEN to anyone interested in trying out for the part. Today OPEN CALL makes a fine theme for this puzzle. I like the consistency of the word CALL being OPENed the same in each theme answer: CA/LL. It's appropriate for this theme that this puzzle is packed full of theater references! Thank you, Amie, for this amazing puzzle.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers