The new play Death on the Supermarket Shelf, written by Alan Bryce and directed by Tina Polzin, premiered March 3 at Centerstage Theatre in Federal Way. This is Bryce's first play since last year's smash hit musical For All That. Death on the Supermarket Shelf is most definitely not a musical, and yet there is music in it - a lot of music actually, as much as many full-blown musical comedies (and it's most definitely not a comedy either).

In 1982, seven people died from taking poisoned Tylenol. What followed was what Bryce termed a nationwide panic that altered consumer confidence forever. "It was the case that stopped a nation in its tracks and changed American consumerism forever," Bryce said. "But it's more than that. As I researched the play, I discovered a story of evil, corporate villainy, human stupidity and human dignity that took my breath away."

Bryce's play covers 34 years from the time of the first murder to the aftermath and investigation of the crime, which remains unsolved today. It focuses on the first victim, Lynn Reiner (Melanie Hampton) and her husband, Ed (Jamie Pederson) and their 8-year-old daughter Michelle, who witnessed her mother's death. (Cora Pearlstein plays Michelle; understudy Molly Winter played Michelle March 6 and 10).

Events leading up to and including Lynn's death, the investigations of suspects and the efforts of Johnson and Johnson, makers of Tylenol, to convince authorities the murders were committed by a lone-wolf madman are all presented in a series of highly stylized yet realistic episodic scenes with singers functioning in the role of a Greek chorus. The music is all from blues legend Robert Johnson. This innovative use of music to highlight aspects of the story and ease through transitions between scenes intensifies the drama. The singers throughout most of the play are Cooper Harris-Turner, who plays Scott Bartz, the reporter who wrote three books about the murders, and Sara Henly-Hicks, who plays Michelle as an adult. They are marvelous singers. Hick's voice is sultry and husky; Harris-Turner has great range from tender to growling and shouting. Hampton, who shows up as either the ghost of Lynn Reiner or as a representative of grown-up Michelle's memory of her (I could not tell which and don't think that is an issue) also sings hauntingly.

The set by Julia Welch and lighting by Paul Arnold are deceptively simple and highly effective. Welch's set is a simple open box or cage, perhaps best described as the open frame of a room with no walls.

Twelve cast members and one understudy play multiple roles. It would be impossible to point one or more actors as outstanding. They all are. The play is intense, dramatic, and practically guaranteed to keep audience members on the edge of their seats even though the outcome of the real event is well known.

My one criticism is that in a few brief moments giving out information becomes more important than the dramatic sweep of the action. Probably not worth quibbling over except in a scene that lasts no more than a couple of minutes right before the wonderfully inventive and emotional final scene.

DEATH ON THE SUPERMARKET SHELF, Friday-Sunday through March 26, with an additional performance March 10 at the Knutzen Family Theatre. 3200 SW Dash Point Rd., Federal Way, 253.661.1444, www.centerstagetheatre.com.