No Diddy ; Sean Combs Takes a Chance on Broadway

Famed rapper, music mogul, marathon runner, and now, Broadway thespian Sean "P. Diddy" Combs decompresses in his dressing room between Wednesday matinee and night preview performances of "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway.

"It's exciting doing two shows in one day," says a soft-spoken Combs, divested of all bling-bling and bravado as he sits in the cramped backstage confines of the Royale Theater. "It's great to be able to come back in two hours and correct the problems."

At first, Puffy on Broadway might sound as unlikely as George W. Bush doing rap. But it gradually becomes apparent why Combs, 33, would want to try something like this. The grueling, improve-it-as- you-go process of putting up a play is a perfect match for a man who constantly searches for ways to improve himself. Not reinvent himself, mind you. Just improve himself. But will he find as much success on the Broadway stage as he has found in so many other arenas?

"The scary thing is, the countdown is this week," he says five days before tonight's opening. "You get more and more confident as you do it. But then you make it harder for yourself, by trying to go deeper each time. We're getting close. ... I have so much respect for this ... the physical and emotional demands. ... I had no idea it would be this hard."

Not that he thought it would be easy, either. Combs' only acting stints before this were small parts in the films "Monster's Ball" and "Made." Though he's been taking acting lessons from a private coach for several years, he realizes he's still green. "I've never had more than two pages of dialogue," he says.

In this, his Broadway debut, he has plenty more than that. Combs plays Walter Lee Younger, the dreaming, scheming husband and father in Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play that originally starred Sidney Poitier. If that isn't formidable enough, Combs is starring with seasoned Broadway veterans Phylicia Rashad and three-time Tony winner Audra McDonald.

"For me, as a young actor, my first time on Broadway, it's been an incredible experience, and I've gotten a lot of guidance from my fellow actors," says Combs, who got an audition through his acting coach. "My motivation is to become the best actor I can be."

One of the toughest things, he says, has been the marathon work schedule during rehearsals and previews. "The hours are like you can't imagine. Sixteen-hour days. Even when you go home, you can't stop thinking about it," he says.

The other challenge is to forget the audience is there. This isn't a concert, after all. You're not supposed to play to the crowd. You're supposed to make them feel like they're spying in on a family crisis. "There's this intensity of people watching your every move. You just try to protect your fourth wall by trying to stay focused," he says.

Combs says he and the struggling, working-class Walter Lee have more in common than people think. "I wasn't always rich," he says. "I wasn't always famous. And no matter what, I'm still a black man. Money doesn't erase the past. I grew up in a house with women. My father was killed when I was 3. I have sons. There are some parallels. But the biggest parallel is that we're both dreamers. And dreamers are gamblers."

Some in the Broadway theater community have sneered at the casting of Combs as a crass commercial ploy that demeans the craft of stage acting and robs more skilled, qualified actors of the role. Actor Anthony Mackie, currently in "Drowning Crow," was quoted in a column on theatermania.com saying, "Casting a rapper like P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Mr. Runner, or whatever he calls himself, shows a great lack of respect to the African-American community by the African- American community."

Director Kenny Leon says he was as leery as anyone - until Combs came in and auditioned three or four times.

"Did I think of him off the top of my head? No," Leon says. "I knew I wanted someone with a little edge to him, who doesn't seem so polished that he comes off as an 'actor.' And I wanted someone who could understand both sides of the American Dream. To have, and to have not ... Sean is absolutely the best person to fill those shoes."

The long hours of rehearsal, low pay, and scrutiny he's subjecting himself to, says Combs, are worth it if his name recognition draws a whole new demographic into the theater.

"The young people come, and this isn't the circus. This isn't 'Lord of the Rings.' This was required reading in high school. ... And they're jumping on their feet. It feels great," he says.

"The beauty of it is, after the first five minutes or so, they're totally into the character of Walter Lee, not me," he adds. "And in the end, I think they're proud of me."

Well, not him, really. Proud of Walter Lee, he means. The character must make some tough decisions by the end of the play, to do right by himself and his family.

What critics will think of Combs' decision to try Broadway remains to be seen. Whatever happens, he says, it appears preview audiences are loving the production and telling their friends. He hopes those skeptical of his Broadway debut will at least reserve judgment until they come and see him. Who knows? They may even be surprised.

"Word of mouth is spreading," he says. "The kid isn't fooling around."