STAGE REVIEW : Come What Mayhem in the ‘Room’ : Garden Grove Community Theatre stages Ira Levin’s creepy thriller. The first acts plods along, but things pick up.

GARDEN GROVE —  “Veronica’s Room” isn’t Ira Levin’s most clever or intriguing mystery, but it may be his creepiest.

The author of such classy, convoluted whodunits as “Deathtrap” veers into the realm of weird psychology with this play, in a macabre staging at the Garden Grove Community Theatre through Sunday.

Over the course of its two hours, we get some incest, some necrophilia and a taste of “Psycho”-like mayhem along with a line or two of Gothic humor to lighten up all the Grand Guignol ghoulishness.

To discuss the details of plot would be to reveal too much, but it’s safe to say that, as with most chillers, things aren’t what they seem. The story begins with a young woman (Margaret Kay Murphy) and her companion (Bill Walters) agreeing to help two older strangers (Rose Maling and Don Myers). The young woman is asked to pose as Veronica, the dead sister of someone who, we’re told, is insane and dying of cancer. The couple say they hope the sight of “Veronica” will ease the dying person’s mind. The young woman goes along, and everything turns strange.

Director Greg Garlich is too deliberate in setting all this up and--at Friday’s opening, anyway--it took the actors a while to strike a comfortable rhythm. The first act plodded as a result. But things picked up after intermission.

Once at ease, Murphy is very capable as a bright and spunky college student faced with confusion that escalates into terror. Maling and Myers get a little hammy in the second act but still convey their characters’ insanity. And there is something unhealthy about Walters’ young man throughout, which is just right for the role.

Don Couch, Peter Dolan and Greg Garlich’s darkish set is simple and uncluttered. A significant element of the production is Bob Kozlowski and Couch’s sound design, a thumping mix of chants, dirges and horror schlock that creates the appropriate mood.

‘Veronica’s Room’

A Garden Grove Community Theatre production of the play by Ira Levin. Directed by Greg Garlich. With Rose Maling, Margaret Kay Murphy, Don Myers and Bill Walters. Set by Don Couch, Peter Dolan and Greg Garlich. Sound by Bob Kozlowski and Don Couch. Lighting by Lee Schulman. Costumes by Lisa Peters. Plays Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at 12001 St. Mark St., Garden Grove. Tickets: $6 and $7. (714) 897-5122.