Kristine Nielsen and More Join Patrick Page in Off-Broadway Assassin Comedy Archduke

The New York premiere of Archduke, Rajiv Joseph’s darkly comic play about Franz Ferdinand’s assassin, has completed casting. Performances begin off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre on October 23 with an official opening set for November 12. The limited engagement continues through December 21.

As previously reported, Patrick Page will play Dragutin ‘Apis’ Dimitrijevic. He is joined by Kristine Nielsen, a star of HBO's The Gilded Age and two-time Tony nominee for Gary and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, as Sladjana. Jake Berne will play Gavrilo, Adrien Rolet will play Trifko and Jason Sanchez will tale on the role as Nedeljko. Celeste Ciulla, Tom Holcomb, Evan Paul Silverstein are set to round out the cast as the understudies.

Directed by Darko Tresnjak, the production will feature scenic design by Alexander Dodge; costume design by Linda Cho; lighting design by Matthew Richards; sound design by Jane Shaw; hair, wig and make-up design by Tom Watson; and fight direction by Rocio Mendez.
 
This play rewinds history to reveal the fateful journey of Gavrilo Princip—best remembered as Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassin—and his fellow revolutionaries in a new light. Here, we see the late teens not as hardened killers but as a ragtag group of dreamers swept up in forces beyond their control and in dire need of a sandwich. With razor-sharp humor, gripping tension and irreverence, Archduke transforms a pivotal moment in world history into a theatrical experience—one that feels unexpectedly urgent and strikingly relevant in an era of disillusioned young men searching for purpose.