The extremely ugly midnight murder of hapless King Alexander and Queen Draga of Serbia in their bedroom, from which their hacked bodies were thrown into a courtyard below — the very definition of defenestration! — is described in gory, saber-point detail by the spymaster who led the palace coup in 1903.
This proud regicide, Dragutin Dimitrijevic, a real-life figure in Balkans history, burns at the center of Archduke, an interesting, nicely written, yet not especially satisfying new drama from Rajiv Joseph. Opening on Wednesday at the Laura Pels Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company’s production dresses up Archduke handsomely, but good looks can be deceptive.
Known amid the spy-versus-spy intrigues of 1900s Central Europe by his code name “Apis” (The Bull), Dimitrijevic was a Serbian army officer and a founder of the Black Hand, a paramilitary group functioning as covert terrorists in the ever-explosive Balkans. Treated by the playwright as a fantastical character in Archduke, the redoubtable Apis is forged into fire-breathing life by Patrick Page, fearlessly and resonantly performing in his grandest manner — and a pleasure to watch, as always.
Joseph, whose best works include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and Guards at the Taj, perhaps misnames Archduke. Scarcely fleshing out the ill-fated Franz Ferdinand, Joseph’s story is far more concerned with depicting the florid Apis and the sad young men he recruits in 1914 to assassinate the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. (But then, Assassins already serves as the title for Stephen Sondheim’s musical about killers of U.S. Presidents, so Archduke it is.)
Just don’t expect Archduke to be dramatized history so much as a grim comedy that delivers a what-if conclusion. To some extent the play offers a sympathetic study of several impoverished, extremely sickly, 19 year-olds manipulated by a masterful personality to believe they can give meaning to their pointless lives by becoming martyrs for a political cause. But then the play oddly suggests that Apis’ deadly enmity towards the Archduke — and more particularly towards his consort, the Duchess of Hohenberg — stems from some lingering, psychosexual, unfinished business with murdered Queen Draga. “Do not let a woman erase the man you have become,” Apis warns his recruits.
Depicting the naïve youngsters whom Apis wines, dines and indoctrinates into the Black Hand are Jake Berne, Adrien Rolet and Jason Sanchez, all making their off Broadway debuts. They appear nearly interchangeable in their shabby 1900s clothes, scraggly mustaches and anxious performances. Perhaps such anonymity is inculcated by the director, Darko Tresnjak, to underscore how young people yet to develop their identities are susceptible to influences for good or evil.
Dramatic conflict unexpectedly arrives in the cozy form of Sladjana, a not so faithful servant who cooks scrumptious meals for Apis and his famished guests. In the second act, Sladjana develops into a warm, motherly soul whose goodhearted influence changes history as the world knows it. Pottering about in voluminous skirts, Kristine Nielsen initially and broadly portrays Sladjana as a cartoon peasant, then later sobers up into a positive force, possibly folkloric in nature.
Although much happens in Archduke, the ultimately fanciful drama adds up to not so much, frankly, in spite of being bolstered by a glossy, obviously expensive production expertly rendered by designers Alexander Dodge (set), Linda Cho (costume), Matthew Richards (lighting) and Jane Shaw (sound). Tresnjak’s staging rolls it all out smoothly, but the play merely ends and really never resonates.
Archduke opened November 12, 2025, at the Laura Pels Theatre and runs through December 21. Tickets and information: roundabouttheatre.org
