‘One Way Ticket’ too campy, clever

“One Way Ticket to Hell” looks to be one hot ticket, but this ultra-campy musical about the perils of drug addiction craves a fix or two in its current incarnation at the Lee Strasberg Creative Center.

Following in the proud tradition of “Reefer Madness,” Drew Taylor (book and lyrics) and composer Robert Cioffi lifted their title and good-girl-gone-bad story line from an obscure 1954 drug scare movie so low budget it relied entirely on voice-over narration in lieu of dialogue.

In deference to the wisdom of their source, the creators employ a pompous, sweaty police lieutenant (Ron Nummi) as our guide to the downhill slide of Cassandra Leigh (Kristen Howe), a naive suburban teen corrupted by a gateway reefer and a wild ride with a motorcycle gang (wittily choreographed by Josh Prince).

Despite her attempts to lead a moral life in the bosom of her abusive family (Barbara Passolt, Jack Harding), and then with a husband of dubious sexual orientation (Joe Settineri), the forbidden fruit of low-life pushers (P.J. Griffith, DT Matias) proves too tempting to resist.

On the lam from the law, our hapless heroin-addicted heroine joins forces with a kindred hooked hooker (Erin Stoddard), leading to an overdose, a stint in the nuthouse and a stretch in the Big House.

Howe (who originated the role of Cassandra in a previous workshop production) is the real deal -- a powerhouse belter with a killer vibrato, and an actress capable of negotiating the sharp careens in tone from subtle satire to intentionally offensive vulgarity. Stoddard is the cast’s other outstanding vocalist.

The show starts off strong, with some vigorous, inventive staging by Richard Hochberg. The live four-piece band is badly muffled in its offstage hidden confines, however.

The incessantly cynical parody outlives its own cleverness, running out of steam in the second act. Occasional sentimental tunes are too caustic to provide a “Somewhere That’s Green” moment that engages any real sympathy.

But as the unrepentant Cassandra says of her tragic fate, “Regrets are like an empty gin bottle -- enjoyed once and never to be hit over the head with.”

“One Way Ticket to Hell,” Lee Strasberg Creative Center, Marilyn Monroe Theatre, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Ends Aug. 6. $40. (866) 811-4111 or www.onewaytickettohellthemusical.com. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.