Arts & Entertainment
Girl reappearing
Tori Amos celebrates 20th anniversary by revisiting her catalogue

Tori Amos is straight but has a strong LGBT fan base. The Bladeās Joey DiGuglielmo is a long-time fan, having worn out a copy of āBoys for Peleā in the throes of closeted college-era angst. He talked to her by phone two weeks ago to talk about her new album āGold Dust,ā which features orchestral re-workings of 14 of her songs. Itās slated to drop Tuesday in the U.S.
Blade: Hi Tori
Tori Amos: Hi, how are you?
Blade: Iām good. Iām gonna try to cover a lot of ground really quickly so Iām just gonna jump right in. Tell me a little about the relationship you have going with Deutsche Grammophon. This is your second project with them. Are you under contract or are you just doing things on kind of an album-by-album basis?
Amos: Kind of album by album. ⦠They came up with the idea of the variations on the masters (last yearās āNight of Huntersā album) but when Iād been working with the Metropole Orchestra the year before and they basically said, āWe need recordings of this. This is the 20thĀ anniversary of your work and this is how you do it with an orchestra.ā I didnāt know, at first, if that made sense, but it seemed to make sense in their German minds. So itās been very organic.
Blade: Iām just wondering how some of these arrangements came about and thinking back to some of those great remixes you had of your stuff back in the late ā90s. Obviously I know remixing is a whole different thing altogether, but in terms of crafting symphonic arrangements or reworkings of your songs ā where these songs are very much living in an alternate space from their original studio versions ā Iām wondering if any of the same artistic considerations or principles apply as would if youāre crafting an alternate version in the form of a remix.
Amos: Wow, thatās a great question. I guess the thing about a remix is you donāt have to retain the narrative or even the spirit of the original work in the same way. So the āProfessional Widowā remix, for example, became a very different expression of the song from the original. Some of that narrative was there but not the way it was on the (album version). And yet the remix still clearly did its job. But in doing something like this, you donāt want to lose the songās story or her narrative in any way, so it was important to really, and sometimes very subtly, make changes. Some of the songs didnāt want a makeover. Some of them said, āOnly strings,ā or others said, āWeāre open to a full orchestra but we donāt want to become completely overtaken.ā It was almost like you were changing their outfit, but you were not changing their soul. Some were open to a more radical flavor. Like with āFlavor,ā for instance, which was originally recorded with loops, it really stepped forward and said, āI want a completely different approach.ā Or with āPrecious Things.ā It kind of said it thought its narrative could work with a more Prokofiev-inspired approach.
Blade: What was the time frame for this album?
Amos: I was rehearsing (with the Metropole Orhestra) for shows in October, 2010 and then we got back together in early 2011 and began recording some, but then we put it away because we went and did āNight of Huntersā with the octet. So that project came first, even though this was the first idea. Then we put the (āGold Dustā) reels back on, Iād say maybe January 2012 and ⦠began editing them together. Overdubs and mixing were finished in July.
Blade: Classical musicians can be notoriously snobby. Did you get any vibe from the Metropole players, even if they never said anything, that they were thinking, āWhy are we doing this ā canāt somebody bring us some Beethoven or something?ā You do all kinds of stuff, obviously, but the grand scheme of things, your songs would be considered in more of the pop idiom than classical.
Amos: It was really a collaboration with them and I think the reason Alex (Burh, the Deutsche Grammophon exec who suggested āNight of Huntersā) suggested it is because he could tell there was a real conversation happening during the rehearsals (for the 2010 concert). There was definitely an affinity and a back-and-forth-type thing that was going on and I think that was why the decision was made to document and record it. There was a chemistry.
Blade: Youāve done a few theme projects now ā a holiday album, some concept albums, a classical album, now orchestral reworkings of your songs. Do you have a private bucket list of stuff you want to eventually do? Iām not even necessarily asking what all those projects might be, but do you think, āWell, before I hang up my hat, I definitely want to do ā blank.ā Does your artistic mind work that way?
Amos: Yes, it thinks that way. I think right now Iām really focused on the musical, āThe Light Princess.ā Nick Hytner is very much a powerful force at the National Theatre in Great Britain and so hopefully the plan or the idea is that the piece will be ready to get put on its feet within, oh I donāt know, a year, maybe a little over a year. Thatās what I have on my brain right now. But yeah, I approach things as a conceptualist and there are all kinds of thoughts that have come into my mind. I would love to someday do something where I just stay someplace and perform. I donāt know if youād call it an evening in Las Vegas or what, but with a story and dancers. I would love to do something at Caesarās Palace someday. And not just campy, you know, but maybe a bit of camp, but I love the idea of having dancers ā not me dancing, I would be playing and singing ā but have some dancers onstage and just make it an incredibly entertaining evening. Very much an old-school variety show with great costumes and an old Hollywood feel. Something like from the ā30s or ā40s where you get dressed up and come to a show and have dinner and walk away feeling like youāve had a really glamorous evening.
Blade: Well, I would definitely come see it, that sounds fun. One thing Iāve always really admired about you is that you donāt always make things easy on the fans or present the material in such a way that itās easy or accessible for the most casual fan, to say nothing of the material itself. Iām talking about things like those Icon or Playlist anthology CDs where they throw them together for all kinds of artists and make them something thatās meant to be a $7.99 impulse purchase in the checkout lane at Target. You never do things like that. And Iām not even saying itās necessarily a bad thing ā¦.
Amos: (interjects) ⦠It is bad.
Blade: OK, why? Couldnāt you argue that it might pique someoneās curiosity and inspire them to then go dig deeper?
Amos: Iām telling you, itās sinning against your art. Thatās what youāre doing. Itās lazy.
Blade: Do you have business people approach you with these kinds of ideas?
Amos: Well, you know. There are all kinds of ideas that get spun about. But you have to have it in your head whether itās a good idea or not. How are you going to feel about it in three months, in six months? What kind of statement does it make about you as an artist? And hey, sometimes I understand why they release these anthologies because something like (āGold Dustā), I mean this takes a LOT of time to do. We started October 2010 so weāre talking two years from inception to this. It started with them inviting me to come play a show but it didnāt matter if it was one show or 200 shows or if we recorded the arrangements or not, the work still had to be done. The arrangements still had to be made for, like, 20 songs. (Arranger) John Philip Shenale and I were in touch everyday about this for one show, which is all I initially thought it was going to be. Not for one second did I think this would end up being a studio album. They invited me for this before the Alex, the German musicologist, invited me to come start messing with the masters. So that was the genesis and the time frame and doing a project like this with an orchestra is really tricky because people have attachments to the original versions. You really want to retain the soul of the song girl and like I said, some didnāt want extreme makeovers. That wasnāt really the challenge. Itās not about trying to shock people or try to decide how different you can make it. Thatās almost too easy. Itās easy to shock people that way, to turn something totally on its head. I think whatās much trickier to do is to subtle because subtle changes can also become real banal and lifeless if youāre not careful.
Blade: I interviewed Sophie B. Hawkins a few weeks ago, who has a fabulous new album out by the way. I highly recommend it. Iām wondering if you feel any sense of sisterhood or artistic kinship with other women who came along in the ā90s about the same time you did. Youāve managed to continue to forge ahead against the odds, while so many artists from that time have seen their audience dry up or move on. What advice would you give to other women who are highly talented musicians and still feel they have something great to offer?
Amos: It is really tough out there and itās culturally tough because the masses seem to be gravitating to the next people and artists are seen as very disposable. They want to move on to whomever is next instead of growing with them. I have always wanted to grow with the artists and jump on the train with them. I wanted to know what they were experiencing and wanted to be seen as their patron. Thatās how I think of my audience ā I very much see them as my patrons, the people who come to my shows. Because without them, I couldnāt keep going. Also, philosophically, people seem to be of the mindset often, that itās OK to just take something. I would never go to a wine show and slip a bottle of wine in my bag when the vendor wasnāt looking but people have talked themselves into thinking that thatās OK. Meanwhile orchestras are shutting down and you have ⦠very accomplished musicians thinking about how theyāre going to make a living doing their art. This is what Iām hearing from a lot of musicians. Do I have an answer? No, I donāt. I think itās a cultural crisis.
Blade: Isnāt it partly short attention spans too?
Amos: Well yes, that and not wanting to grow. I would like to say that eventually people will realize how sad it is and that it will turn itself around but one of the reasons for the short attention spans is these shows where the next crop is waiting in the wings for its 15 minutes. These shows are making a lot of money but they donāt care about these singers. All they care about is the next show. Nobody is nurturing these artists.
Blade: A lot of people tape your shows and trade them around. Are you OK with that as long as theyāre not trying to profit off them? Say they couldnāt make it to the show in Denver and you did this new song ā which has always been one of the cool things about you, that your set list changes all the time.
Amos: I donāt have a problem with that but please, use good mics! Now obviously, if youāre trying to sell it, then I have a problem. I think my community knows how it goes. They know where I stand on stuff like that. Iāve even had people tell me they knew somebody who fell on hard times and couldnāt go to one of the shows. OK, but one day when you can, give back. I support the arts. Like visual artists ā I go to galleries and support artists all the time.
Blade: I have a somewhat self-indulgent question Iām gonna squeeze in here but maybe it will apply to some other fans too. I play in a church so the challenge really becomes digesting so much new music all the time. What advice would you give to a church pianist or organist where thereās never time to polish anything or let it settle into the brain or fingers before youāre onto the stuff for next Sunday?
Amos: I think you should all be revisiting things on some kind of a rotating schedule. So maybe you revisit something, say, three months later and it becomes part of your repertoire and that way you develop a repertoire. I donāt think things just have to be performed one time. People will say, āOh, I recognize that, I like that piece.ā
Blade: I guess the cynic in me thinks theyāll think, āOh, that again ā he must have had a busy week.ā
Amos: Well, OK, I guess some might think that but you canāt lie to yourself. The only other thing you can do is carve out more rehearsal time for yourself, but yeah, I can imagine it is tough.
Blade: Are you a keeper by nature? Do you have clothes from old video shoots and, like, all the āDoll Posseā wigs and stuff like that?
Amos: Yes, I have all that. And yes, (daughter) Tash dresses up in them all the time.
Blade: How many pianos do you own?
Amos: Well thatās tough to say because I have a deal with Bosendorfer so I can trade them out.
Blade: I canāt imagine what your tuning bill must be.
Amos: Well, we have different tuners in different countries. The Bosendorfer at the beach house in Florida, we have this lovely lady who has this twinkle in her eye. And then thereās the one where we record in Cornwall. But Ann has gotten the Florida one where it doesnāt need as much because itās not being recorded. Sheās really got it stable right now and itās not being moved, so it tends to hold its tuning pretty well. When weāre recording, we tune once a week.
Blade: I love the new album, thanks so much for your time.
Amos: You take care honey, thanks.
Theater
āBad Booksā a timely look at censorship in local library
Influencer vs. conservative parent in Round House production

āBad Booksā
Through May 4
Round House Theatre
4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md.
Tickets start at $43
Roundhousetheatre.org
While a library might seem an unlikely place for a heated contretemps, itās exactly the spot where adults go when theyāre itching to battle out what books minors might be allowed to read.
In Sharyn Rothsteinās āBad Books,ā two women, The Mother (out actor Holly Twyford) and The Librarian (Kate Eastwood Norris), swiftly become mired in a quarrel that comes with some weighty repercussions.Ā
The Mother is a popular conservative influencer on a mission. Sheās furious that the local library has overstepped its bounds and she blames The Librarian, a woman who adheres to the āit takes a villageā method of child rearing and is dedicated to the young people who approach her reference desk.
Thereās some background. It seems The Librarian who dresses young (tight jackets and Doc Martens) and curses a blue streak, forged a friendship with Jeremy, a teenage library regular.
While the details are a bit hazy, it seems the troubled Jeremy confided in The Librarian regarding some personal issues. In return, she suggested a helpful book ā Boob Juice.
Unsurprisingly, based solely on its title, the book has thrown The Mother into a pique of outrage. After finding Boob Juice in her sonās bedroom, she made a beeline to the library; and not incidentally, The Mother hasnāt read the recommended work and has no plans to do so.
Set in a suburb with lax gun laws, the story explores facets of division and conciliation. The Mother insists she isnāt so much about banning books as she is keeping some books away from young people until theyāve obtained parental approval.
āBad Booksā is performed in the round. Built on a rotating stage, Meghan Rahamās set is simple, pleasingly serviceable, and easily transforms from the library into a small corporate office, and later the assembly room of a church. Overhead floats a circular glass shelf filled with a cache of banned books. Things like a rolling book cart and a goldfish bowl add some flavor to the different locations.
The Mother wasnāt always a popular conservative warrior with an enthusiastic horde of followers.
Her past includes penning a book that later filled her with guilt and regret. She refers to that early questionable literary accomplishment as her bad book. And while over the years, she has persevered to find and destroy each and every printed copy, she hasnāt entirely succeeded.
Norris plays three women who figure meaningfully into the arc of Twyfordās mother character. In addition to The Librarian, Norris is The Manager, a broadly played piece of comic relief, and The Editor, a warm woman who reveals things about Jeremy that his own mother never knew.
Smartly staged by Ryan Rilette, the production is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. While Rothsteinās script offers two strong roles (skillfully performed by celebrated actors Twyford and Norris), its ending feels too neatly resolved.
In the past, Twyford and Norris have successfully joined forces for numerous DMV productions including Studio Theatreās production of David Auburnās two-hander āSummer, 1976,ā the story of a longtime and unlikely friendship between two women who meet as young mothers during the Bicentennial summer.
Though different, both The Librarian and The Mother share a strong and ultimately hopeful relationship with words.
Thereās a quote from E.B. Whiteās classic āCharlotteās Webā that pops up a couple of times in the briskly paced 80-minute play. Charlotte, the wise spider, says, āwith just the right words you can change the world.ā
Books
āPronoun Troubleā reminds us that punctuation matters
āTheyāĀ has been a shape-shifter for more than 700 years

āPronoun Troubleā
By John McWhorter
c.2025, Avery
$28/240 pages
Punctuation matters.
Itās tempting to skip a period at the end of a sentence Tempting to overuse exclamation points!!! very tempting to MeSs with capital letters. Dont use apostrophes. Ask a question and ignore the proper punctuation commas or question marks because seriously who cares.Ā So guess what? Someone does,Ā punctuation really matters,Ā andĀ as youāll see inĀ āPronoun Troubleā by John McWhorter,Ā so do other parts of our language.

Conversation is an odd thing. Itās spontaneous, it ebbs and flows, and itās often inferred. Take, for instance, if you talk about him. Chances are, everyone in the conversation knows who him is. Or he. That guy there.
Thatās the handy part about pronouns. Says McWhorter, pronouns āfunction as shorthandā for whomever weāre discussing or referring to. Theyāre āpart of our hardwiring,ā theyāre found in all languages, and theyāve been around for centuries.
And, yes, pronouns are fluid.
For example, thereās the first-person pronoun, I as in me and there we go again. The singular I solely affects what comes afterward. You say āhe-she IS,ā and āthey-you AREā but I am. From āBlack English,ā I has also morphed into the perfectly acceptable Ima, shorthand for āI am going to.ā Mind blown.
If you love Shakespeare, you mayāve noticed that he uses both thou and you in his plays. The former was once left to commoners and lower classes, while the latter was for people of high status or less formal situations. From you, we get yāall, yeet, ya, you-uns, and yinz. We also get āyou guys,ā which may have nothing to do with guys.
We and us are warmer in tone because of the inclusion implied. She is often casually used to imply cars, boats, and ā warmly or not ā gay men, in certain settings. It ālacks personhood,ā and to use it in reference to a human is ābarbarity.ā
And yes, though it can sometimes be confusing to modern speakers, the singular word ātheyā has been a āshape-shifterā for more than 700 years.
Your high school English teacher would be proud of you, if you pick up āPronoun Trouble.ā Sadly, though, you might need her again to make sense of big parts of this book: What youāll find here is a delightful romp through language, but itās also very erudite.
Author John McWhorter invites readers along to conjugate verbs, and doing so will take you back to ancient literature, on a fascinating journey thatās perfect for word nerds and anyone who loves language. Youāll likely find a bit of controversy here or there on various entries, but youāll also find humor and pop culture, an explanation for why zie never took off, and assurance that the whole flap over strictly-gendered pronouns is nothing but overblown protestation. Readers who have opinions will like that.
Still, if you just want the pronoun you want, a little between-the-lines looking is necessary here, so beware. āPronoun Troubleā is perfect for linguists, writers, and those who love to play with words but for most readers, itās a different kind of book, period.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

Friday, April 18
āCenter Aging Friday Tea Timeā will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected].Ā
Go Gay DC will host āLGBTQ+ Community Social in the Cityā at 7 p.m. at Hotel Zena. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.Ā
Trans and Genderqueer Game Night will be at 6 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This will be a relaxing, laid-back evening of games and fun. All are welcome and thereāll be card and board games on hand. Feel free to bring your own games to share. For more details, visit the DC Centerās website.Ā
Saturday, April 19
Go Gay DC will host āLGBTQ+ Community Brunchā at 11 a.m. at Freddieās Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including Allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgement free. There are all sorts of activities like watching movies, poetry events, storytelling, and just hanging out with others. For more information and events for LGBTQ People of Color, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.Ā
āSpark Sapphic Socialā will be at 8 p.m. at Spark Social House. This weekly sapphic social is an opportunity to mix and mingle with other sapphics in D.C.ās newest LGBTQ bar. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.Ā
āDC Drag Brunch on Rooftop – Penthouse (Formerly at Lima Twist)ā will be at 12 p.m. at Baby Shank Rooftop. Hosted by Miss Capital Pride, this is the ultimate drag brunch experience in Washington, D.C., featuring the fiercest queens around. Prepare to be entertained by glamorous drag queens and celebrated celebrity impersonators, including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, BeyoncĆ©, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Whitney Houston, Cher and many more. Tickets cost $27 and are available on Eventbrite.Ā
Sunday, April 20
Queer Crayon Club will host āQueer Sketch Socialā at 3 p.m. at Sinners and Saints. This is a fun event for LGBTQ+ adults to come together and color. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, April 21
āCenter Aging Monday Coffee & Conversationā will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected].Ā
Tuesday, April 22
Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This support group is for people who identify outside of the gender binary. Whether youāre bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that youāre not 100% cis ā this is your group. For more details, visit www.genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.Ā
Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-facilitated discussion group and a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. For more details, visit the groupās Facebook.Ā
Wednesday, April 23
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking ā allowing participants to move away from being merely āapplicantsā toward being ācandidates.ā For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
Asexual and Aromantic Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom.Ā This is a space where people who are questioning this aspect of their identity or those who identify as asexual and/or aromantic can come together, share stories and experiences, and discuss various topics. For more details, email [email protected].Ā
Thursday, April 24
Virtual Yoga with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Communityās website.
DC Anti-Violence Project Open Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This meeting is open to anyone interested in learning more and getting involved in lessening violence both within and directed towards the LGBT communities. For more information, visit Facebook or Twitter.
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