Star makes U- turn

Kline declines to join the Tony campaign

CAN you win a Tony Award without campaigning?

It looks as if Kevin Kline is going to try.

Kline, 69, was nominated thisweek for his portrayal of a an aging matinee idol in “PresentPre Laughter” at the St. James. J He’s up against somesom first- rate actors— Jefferson Mays Jeff (“Oslo”), Corey Hawkins Cor (“Six Degrees of Separation”),Sep Chris Cooper (“A Doll’s House,Hou Part 2”) and Denis Arndt (“Heisenberg”)—H but his part is flashy and he dominates Noël Coward’s 1942 comedy.com

K Kline could easily add a third Tony to hish shelf if only he’d work a room or two full of Tony voters.

But,B friends say, he despises schmoozing,schm dislikes chatting with the press and finds the whole Tony rigmarolerig distasteful.

HeH agreed to do a dog- and- pony show for sh the press just before “Present en Laughter” opened, but as one reporter told me, “You could tell it rew was the last place in theworld he wantedw to be.”

He attended the opening- night partyp for the show, “but stayed abouta five minutes,” a source says. AndA hewas a no- showat the “Meet the Tony Nominees” cattle call Wednesday morning at the Sofitel New York Hotel. That can be an excruciating event, to be sure, but it’s considered an important stop on the Tony campaign trail. Only a sure fire winner such as Bette Midler in “Hello, Dolly!” can duck it— and she did.

Another stop is the New York Times, which usually profiles the nominees with the best shots at winning. Kline agreed to be interviewed, which made his producers very happy— the publicity would probably sell some tickets.

The Times assigned Alexis Soloski to do the interview. As hew aited at home for the car to pick him up, Kline, out of curiosity, Googled her name. Soloski also reviews Broadway shows for the Guardian in London, and her reviewof “Present Laughter” popped up on his screen.

Here’s what he read: “False starts and outmoded techniques make this [ revival] seem dated, leaving its star with too much heavy lifting.” Oops! Kline called the driver and told him to turn around and go home. The interview was off.

Well, you can’t blame him. The Times should have been a little more sensitive. Why should he sit and chat with a critic who zinged his show? You’re not going to see Ben Brantley hanging out with the cast of “Amélie”—“It neither offends nor enthralls,” hewrote— anytime soon.

If Kline does decide to do a little press at some point( Mays is gaining ground!), I’d be delighted to interview him for this column, which is avidly read by all 800 Tony voters. ( That sound you hear isme tooting my own horn.)

The Post is a fitting place for him, anyway. One of the first interviews Kline ever gave, as the breakout star of “On the Twentieth Century” in 1978, was to our legendary nightlife columnist Earl Wilson.

They met in Wilson’s apartment at the Parc Vendome, and snuggled into a pair of comfortable chairs. The chairs may have been a little too comfortable, because halfway through the interview, Wilson, then 70, fell asleep. Kline looked at his press agent, who cleared his throat until Wilson woke up.

You have my word, Kevin: If you do an interview with me, I won’t nod off.

And remember this: You did that interview with The Post on the eve of the 1978Tonys— and you won.

TURN ER Classic Movies put together a fine tribute thisweek to Robert Osborne, who died March 6. Michael Feinstein brought down the house with “Hooray for Hollywood” and marvelous clips from some of Osborne’s favorite movies. Osborne once gave me a list of his favorite movies about the theater, and so I pass them along to you today— “All About Eve,” of course, but also the more obscure “Critic’s Choice,” starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, and “The Velvet Touch,” starring Rosalind Russell.

And let’s not forget “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies ,” with David Niven and Doris Day inspired by the lives of real- life theater couple Walter and Jean Kerr.

Kline could easily add a third Tony to his shelf if only he’d work a room or two full of Tony voters.