Submitted Photo “The Death of Stalin” will be screened on Saturday, May 12, and Tuesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fredonia Opera House.

The next feature film in the Opera House Cinema Series is the comedy “The Death of Stalin.” It will be screened on Saturday, May 12, and Tuesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m.

The one-liners fly as fast as political fortunes fall in this uproarious, wickedly irreverent satire from Armando Iannucci (Veep). It’s Moscow, 1953: when tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to be the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). But as they bumble, brawl, and backstab their way to the top, just who is running the government? Combining palace intrigue with rapid-fire farce, this audacious comedy is a bitingly funny takedown of bureaucratic dysfunction performed to the hilt by a sparkling ensemble cast.

Sara Stewart, in the New York Post, calls the film “a delicious black comedy.” Manohla Dargis, in the New York Times, calls it “hilarious and horrifying. A vision of totalitarian madness as shudderingly pertinent as it is outrageous.” Adam Graham, in the Detroit News, calls it “a deep farce, but rooted in enough political reality that it hardly feels sensationalized.” Richard Roeper, in the Chicago Sun-Times, calls it “an audacious and insightful and ridiculous and hilarious send-up that reminded me of the classic Monty Python films of the 1970s and ’80s.” Rated R for language throughout, violence and some sexual references, “The Death of Stalin” runs one hour, 47 minutes.

The Opera House Cinema Series is sponsored by Lake Shore Savings Bank. Tickets are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students) the night of each screening. A book of 10 movie passes is available for $60 at the door or online at www.fredopera.org. Thanks to the generous support of an anonymous donor, the first 20 SUNY Fredonia students at each screening are admitted free. For more information, call the Opera House Box Office at 679-1891.

The Opera House is equipped with individualized closed captioning headsets for the deaf as well as with assistive listening headsets for the hearing-impaired. Simply request one from any usher or Opera House staff member.

The 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit performing arts center located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.