Alicia Keys wants her Tony.
And after this week, the “Girl On Fire” singer will probably snag the big one for her popular musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Keys was the star of Broadway’s spring road conference, an annual convention in which hundreds of out-of-town presenters who book shows around the country come to NYC to be feted.
There’s swag, multiple boozy parties per day — just what these people need — and glad-handing celebs galore. But Broadway is campaigning for more than just two weeks in Cincinnati.
Beyond shopping for productions to bring to their markets, “the road” also makes up about 15% of the 800 or so Tony Award voters who will decide Best Musical on Sunday, June 16.
And in a particularly competitive year for that category, getting the edge matters.
That’s why smart Keys, who produced the semi-autobiographical “Hell’s Kitchen,” gave the road voters a 45-minute concert at Gotham Hall on Wednesday night.
“It was electric,” a source said of the 11 p.m. performance that also featured the show’s nominated stars such as Maleah Joi Moon, Kecia Lewis and Shoshana Bean.
The bash went late, and revelers spilled out to second locations.
Earlier that day during a panel at the Hilton, Keys interviewed book writer Kristoffer Diaz, choreographer Camille A. Brown and director Michael Greif.
“Alicia Keys won the Tony today at the conference,” another source told me of the moving chat.
Not to be outdone, the four other Best Musical nominees did their own song and dance.
“Water For Elephants,” a dark circus musical, threw a party at the Edison Rooftop, and handed out cotton candy Dumbos.
“Suffs,” the “Hamilton”-like show about the women’s suffrage movement, staged a talk at the Music Box Theatre and served boxed lunches. Perhaps unwisely, their most famous producer, Hillary Clinton, didn’t participate.
“Illinoise,” the sublime dance piece set to the music of Sufjan Stevens, has seen their Tony fortunes drop, and had low-key drinks at Yard House.
“They know they aren’t winning,” an insider said.
And “The Outsiders,” “Hell’s Kitchen”’s biggest competition for Best Musical, held a well-attended pre-show party at the Edison Ballroom.
And the band Jamestown Revival, which wrote the terrific show’s pretty score, performed encores at every performance last week.
Still, there was one snafu during their daytime panel.
“They announced the producer of ‘The Outsiders’ in such a way that everyone assumed Angelina Jolie was coming out,” an attendee said of the Hollywood actress who really is a producer of the musical.
“And then it was LaChanze.”
There was a similar mixup at a coffee event for the hit revival of “Merrily We Roll Along.”
That show’s excellent cast — Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez — have been like pollen lately. Everywhere. But Radcliffe couldn’t make this particular party.
However, a source said some attendees didn’t get the memo and confused one of “Merrily”’s producers, Patrick Catullo, with the “Harry Potter” star.
Groff, by the way, attended the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards at 54 Below on Tuesday (The Wall Street Journal’s Charles Isherwood and I stood in the back like Statler and Waldorf), and then headed to Sardi’s where he received a caricature.
He’s the current favorite to win Best Actor in a Musical.
In a classy move, fellow Best Actor nominee Eddie Redmayne of “Cabaret,” showed up to support his friend. Oscar winner Redmayne, who plays the Emcee, has also received raves during the conference for speaking humbly and likably.
But as the competition heats up over the next three weeks, I have a feeling we’ll be quoting a song from a different Kander and Ebb show.
Whatever happened to class?!
