Matt Lauer: Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, the story of a teenage Jewish girl in hiding with her family in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, is known all over the world. In 1952 the Pulitzer prize and Tony award winning play, The Diary of Anne Frank, opened on Broadway with Susan Strasberg in the title role. Well, this Thursday Natalie Portman makes her Broadway debut playing the young girl in a new adaptation of that play. Natalie, it's great seeing you. Welcome back to Today.

NP: It's great seeing you. Thank you.

ML: I understand you've wanted to do some kind of project concerning Anne Frank since you were 12.

NP: Yes.

ML: Why is that?

NP: Well I read the diary when I was 12, while I was filming "The Professional" in France. And I just, I became so connected to the material. And it's very close to my own family history because a lot of my own family was killed in the Holocaust. And I think it's just a really important message to bring to people and keep reminding people about the wrongs of, you know, hatred and racism.

ML: Your dad is Israeli.

NP: Yes.

ML: And your mom is American.

NP: Yes.

ML: I understand the character of Anne Frank that you bring to Broadway, or at least this play depicts is a little bit different then the one we may be familiar with.

NP: Yes.

ML: Why is--how is that?

NP: Well the Anne Frank that we've been presented with in the past has been this kind of saintly, um image of this young girl. And we wanted to present her as a real person. I mean she was a very, very good person and an amazingly talented writer. But she was no, she was not a saint. And I mean, I think it's wrong to present people's icons as kind of saints because then they feel like they can't achieve goodness for themselves.

ML: So what kind of flaws do you show then?

NP: Umm, she's very outgoing and hyper almost to...umm when she was younger...almost to an irritating point where you just can't deal with her because she's just got so much energy. And she's also uh, you know, very outspoken, speaks her mind. Kind of before her time because in that date children weren't supposed to be heard.

ML: There's even some reference to her emerging sexuality in this play.

NP: Yes, yes.

ML: Which was not present in the past.

NP: Yes. Well, it's a big part of the diary. A lot of it was cut out from the original publication by her father. But it's been, it was put back in, in the newest edition of the book. And we put it into the play.

ML: After reading the diary, you did get to go to Amsterdam.

NP: Yes.

ML: And visit the Anne Frank house.

NP: Yes.

ML: With one of the hiders, Miep.

NP: Yes.

ML: How was it to stand in the place that you had read about?

NP: It was amazing. I had been there once before when I was reading the book initially. But when I went back the second time knowing that I was going to be playing Anne Frank. It was just the most amazing feeling. Because you're standing in a place and you know that you...that...that fifty years ago there was a young girl who was just, you know, trying to grow up. And not being able to have a normal 'growing up' because of the Nazis. And it was really emotionally amazing. Especially being there with Miep.

ML: The feeling you got in the pit of your stomach while you were there in that house, how difficult is it to get the audience, on Broadway, to feel that same knot in their stomach after seeing this play?

NP: Umm...it's, it's, it's a challenge to bring it to an audience because you want the audience to really be moved by it. Because it is such an important story. And you want them to learn from it. But also to enjoy the experience because it's not just a sad play. I mean there's a lot of life. These are eight people. And you can't live in a small place with eight people, um, you can't go outside and you can't live in a very depressed way. You have to have humor. So there's very funny parts of the show too. But um--

ML: But I would imagine people are maybe a little uncomfortable about laughing.

NP: Yes, in the beginning the audiences are very tentative to laugh but as it goes on they get very free with it. And I mean sometimes they, you know, we have to have a long pauses between lines because they're just laughing so hard.

ML: This is your Broadway debut.

NP: Yes.

ML: I think you open Thursday night.

NP: Yes.

ML: Is that right? Are you nervous?

NP: Umm...a little bit, but um, it's really exciting for me. I'm having a lot of fun doing this. We have an amazing cast. And the audiences are really responding well to it. So, I'm very pleased.

ML: I mentioned when I was outside talking about the fact that you were going to be here. That you were here three years ago for "The Professional".

NP: Yes.

ML: You were thirteen at the time, you are sixteen now. How has your daily life changed based on what's happened to you and all your success?

NP: Umm, I still have the same friends and I live in the same house--

ML: That's good to hear.

NP: --and I go to the same public school. And um...it's mainly changed in just growing up like a regular person.[giggles]

ML: But people still treat you the same?

NP: Yeah, I mean everyone really treats me the same. My schedule, recently, has been a little more hectic than usual because I have to juggle school and the show. But it's mainly stayed the same.

ML: And after the nerve-racking debut on Thursday, the next real big event you face is SAT's, right?

NP: Yes! [laughs]

ML: And they killed me, so good luck to you. [laughs]

NP: [laughs] Thank you!

ML: It's great to see you, Natalie.

NP: Thank you, good to see you, too.

ML: Come back and see us. Eight fifty-one, we'll be back in a moment. This is Today on NBC.