THE enterprising God light Theatre Company has done sterling work with its imaginative adaptations of “A Clockwork Orange” and “Fahrenheit 451,” but its latest sci-fi classic never quite lifts off.

“Slaughterhouse-Five, or: The Children’s Crusade,” adapted by Eric Simonson from Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 novel, shows that not every fantastical literary work deserves theatrical treatment.

To be fair, attempting Vonnegut’s time-tripping novel – detailing the experiences of the hapless Billy Pilgrim, a suburban optometrist who survives both the World War II firebombing of Dresden and an alien abduction – would seem a hopeless assignment. Indeed, viewers unfamiliar with the convoluted source material will find themselves lost during this similarly episodic stage version.

Godlight specializes in low-tech renditions of ambitious works, and its efforts sometimes pay off here. From its kneeling actors wielding lights in their palms as the aliens to the stark set design featuring a blood-splattered floor and dangling hooks holding soldiers’ dog tags and helmets, Joe Tantalo’s staging is visually haunting.

The 10-member ensemble includes three actors playing Billy in various stages of his life, hard-working Deanna McGovern in all of the female roles, and Ashton Crosby as a folksy narrator reciting lengthy verbatim passages of Vonnegut’s book, especially the oft-repeated, famously fatalistic catchphrase “So it goes.”

But despite their best efforts, the piece ultimately defies comprehension.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE- FIVE, OR: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St.; (212) 279-4200. Through Feb. 17.