The original musical version of Carrie was a notorious flop upon its 1988 Broadway premiere--it closed after five performances at a loss of millions of dollars, nearly destroyed the reputation of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was so ignominious in its failure that it lent its name to author Ken Mandelbaum’s now classic tome about Broadway musical disaster, Not Since Carrie.

Now it’s back, in a dramatically retooled and reconceived off-Broadway revival that attempts to strip away its camp excesses. But while the production generally succeeds in this aspiration, there’s an unfortunate side effect. It’s now simply dull.

Fans of Stephen King’s novel and Brian DePalma’s hit film adaptation are familiar with the story of Carrie White, the unfortunate high school wallflower with lethal telekinetic powers. Lawrence D. Cohen’s book for the musical is generally faithful to the source material, including such iconic moments as the blood-drenched prom and Carrie’s fateful final encounter with her religious fanatic mother. In what is perhaps a reflection on society’s current focus on the horrific effects of teen bullying, that aspect of the storyline is emphasized here to such a degree that Carrie sometimes feels like a supporting character. The attempt at psychological realism is understandable, but it results in an overall blandness that flattens the outlandish proceedings.

Director Stafford Arima takes a far more streamlined approach to the material than did Terry Hands in the big-budgeted original production, which featured lavish sets, bizarre production numbers, overblown special effects and buckets and buckets of fake blood. This scaled-down rendition relies mostly on lighting, projections and sound effects to convey the violent mayhem to generally impressive effect. The fact that not a drop of blood is used onstage is indicative of the overall restraint. 

But the fact remains that the story, like most gothic tales, doesn’t particularly lend itself to musical treatment. And with the exception of “When There’s No One,” a haunting second act ballad sung by Carrie’s mother, the score by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford (whose biggest claim to fame is the movie Fame) is generic, unmemorable pop-rock.

Molly Ransom is touching as Carrie, although she’s never quite as vulnerable or scary as the role demands. And as the obsessed Margaret, Marin Mazzie mainly seems miscast, failing to project the ferociousness that Piper Laurie and Betty Buckley respectively brought to the film and Broadway versions. She ultimately seems less scary than a typical Rick Santorum supporter.

This version of Carrie is certainly viable, and its name recognition should ensure that it gets produced in smaller theaters for a long time to come. But no amount of tinkering will ever make it a successful musical.

Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street. 212-352-3101. www.mcctheater.org. Through April 22.