Diddy's 'Raisin' will 'make my body tingle'

I think that may be the filthiest headline I’ve ever written.

Allow me to explain: P. Diddy’s alter ego Sean Combs starred in a play a while back — a revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic, A Raisin in the Sun. Now he’ll be reprising the role of torn, tempted family man Walter Lee Younger (a role originated by Sidney Poitier) in a film adaptation.

What caught my eye in the link above was Diddy’s preparation for the role: He’s simplifying. Moving out of the mansion and into a studio, laying off the PDAs. Kind of like Marie Antoinette with her potemkin village, while she was preparing for the role of “Headless Royalty” in French Revolution.

Diddy’s not the only one cross-pollinating stage to screen. Three Days of Rain, a.k.a. That Julia Roberts Show, is also heading screenward — though probably sans Julia Roberts.

Hollywood and Broadway — two great tastes that taste great together…. sometimes. Movies become Broadway musicals, then become movie-musicals based on movies. A movie star comes to Broadway, popularizes an obscure play, raises the show’s profile enough to get a movie made, then declines to appear in said movie — perhaps in part because she wasn’t well-reviewed in the role. A movie is made about a snake that eats its own tail, then made into a musical about a snake that eats its own tail based on the hit movie, then made into a movie-musical about a snake that eats its own tail based on the hit musical based on the hit movie. That last one hasn’t happened yet, but you can see where this is going.

Wait, has it happened? And is Samuel L. Jackson involved? Get me a ticket.

addCredit(“Sean “Diddy” Combs: Ron Galella/WireImage.com”)