NYT Crossword 10/18/17 (Wed.)

Cruciverbalists: John Lithgow and Brendan Emmett Quigley
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 13:27

Puzzle uniqueness:

Theater phrases with wacky clues. Example: Answer CURTAINCALL clued as "Decision to go with drapes instead of blinds?" Plus, other theater related answers interspersed throughout the puzzle.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

KEYES - "Daniel who wrote 'Flowers for Algernon'"
KATISHA - "Nanki-Poo's pursuer in The Mikado'" (WTF?)
SECCO - "Painting on dry plaster"

Junk Answers:

AAR - "Swiss waterway"
SHO - "'Dexter' channel, in TV listings"
GMOS - "Engineered food, briefly"
IMOK - "Response to 'You hurt?'"
MOI - "Question of false modesty"
MOCS - "Comfy slip-ons"
INA - "Once ___ while"
NAT - "Lead-in to Geo"
TEC - "Private eye, in old slang"

Clever clues:

EGOS - "They may clash in a theater"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 

KATISHA - (See above)
TEC - (See above)