John Malkovich playing a serial killer? Ho-hum. John Malkovich playing a real-life Austrian serial killer in an experimental play that will have its debut in Austria? Now you’re talking. Agence France-Presse reported that Mr. Malkovich, the protean actor, would portray Jack Unterweger, an Austrian criminal, in a play called “The Infernal Comedy.” In the play, written and directed by Michael Sturminger, the Unterweger character recounts his life, during which he murdered 12 prostitutes and committed suicide in prison, while two sopranos representing his victims sing arias by Haydn, Mozart and Vivaldi. The play, which ran earlier this year in Santa Monica, Calif., under the title “Seduction and Despair,” is scheduled to have its Austrian premiere at the Ronacher Theater in Vienna on July 1.

Play runs July 1-5, 2009