A Series of Unfortunate Events - SOLUTION

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The five theme entries all start with some of the Ten Plagues from the Exodus story, familiar to some from the Passover Seder (or from The Ten Commandments and/or The Prince of Egypt):

• 17-Across: (2016 Coen brothers film) = HAIL CAESAR. Hail, the seventh plague.
• 23-Across: (2003 horror movie, or its fictional title town) = DARKNESS FALLS. Darkness, the ninth plague.
• 38-Across: (Singer's problem) = FROG IN THE THROAT. Frogs, the second plague. (The Talmud, noticing Exodus 8:2's unusual use of the singular noun tzfardea (frog) rather than tzfard'im (frogs) in the description of the start of the plague, suggests that the plague began with one giant Godzilla frog. Is this the first time Talmudic exegesis has been used to justify a crossword answer? Maybe.)
• 50-Across: (Sees red) = BOILS WITH RAGE. Boils, the sixth plague.
• 60-Across: (Cutthroat competition) = BLOOD SPORT. Blood, the first plague.

Since the puzzle's title referred to a series of events, let's take the numbers associated with each plague, and look at the letters in the correspondingly numbered squares in the grid. We have a C in square 7, A in square 9, M in square 2, U in square 6, and S in square 1, giving us our answer of Albert CAMUS, author of The Plague.

Happy Passover to all who celebrate, and best wishes for everyone's health and safety during our current plague.