In Washington, DC, the name Frank Underwood inspires fear and loathing.
But on Broadway, he’s a hero!
Underwood, otherwise known as Kevin Spacey, swooped in Tuesday and saved the Tony Awards by agreeing to host the June 11 telecast.
Tony producers were scrambling to find a host after being turned down by everyone from Tina Fey to James Corden, Hugh Jackman to my mother, Penny Riedel. (She’s hosting a Tupperware party instead.)
“We made a 911 call to Kevin, and thank God he answered,” a Tony source says.
Spacey made fun of his position as the caboose on the hosting train: “I was their second choice for ‘The Usual Suspects,’ fourth choice for ‘American Beauty’ and 15th choice to host this year’s Tony Awards. I think my career is definitely going in the right direction.”
It’s a shrewd move, earning him tremendous good will from theater people. He’s also perfect for the way the telecast is shaping up: As The Post reported last week, Tony producers realized they couldn’t top Corden’s showstopping opening number from last year. Instead, they sought a host who could crack a few jokes and move things along without having to carry big song-and-dance numbers.
As he’s shown on the late-night talk show circuit, Spacey is affable and funny. He sang and danced as Bobby Darin in the 2004 movie “Beyond the Sea,” and while he’s no Gene Kelly, he could charm viewers the way Ryan Gosling did in “La La Land.”
Spacey certainly has a Broadway pedigree. He made his debut in Ibsen’s “Ghosts” in 1982 and won acclaim a few years later as James Tyrone Jr. in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” opposite Jack Lemmon. He won a Best Featured Actor Tony in 1991 for “Lost in Yonkers” and starred in hit revivals of “The Iceman Cometh” and “Moon for the Misbegotten.”
Hosting the Tonys is a lot of work. The show moves into Radio City Musical Hall two weeks before the telecast, and rehearsals are grueling, 12-hour affairs. Until the late 1990s, hosts weren’t paid a dime for their effort.
“It was considered an honor to be asked,” says a veteran Tony official.
Rosie O’Donnell changed that when she hosted a second time in 1998. Her fee was about $75,000, “which for someone in her league back then was an honorarium,” the official says.
No word on how much Spacey’s being paid, but sources say the fees have gone up to about $250,000.
In other Tony news, the race for Best Actor in a Musical is heating up now that “Groundhog Day” star Andy Karl collected a basketful of valentines from the critics.
Karl also proved himself a trouper by performing at Monday’s opening, after tearing his ACL, the major ligament in his knee, on Friday. He’s now performing with a black brace on his leg.
His competition for Best Actor — Ben Platt of “Dear Evan Hansen” — performs with his arm in a cast, but that’s a prop.
“He might want to break his arm for real,” says a cynical Tony voter.
Expect Corey Cott from “Bandstand” and David Hyde Pierce from “Hello, Dolly!” to round out the category.
Pierce can’t be in the Featured Actor category, which he’d probably win, because his role as Horace Vandergelder has traditionally been considered Best Actor.
Plus, he does a lovely job with “Penny in My Pocket,” which was cut out from the original 1964 production but restored for this revival.