In Tyler Tafolla’s latest musical “Dead Moose,” a teen who survives a near-fatal car collision with a moose begins questioning life, death, destiny and his religious faith.
Plays and musicals are often inspired by real-life experiences, but Tafolla — whose “Dead Moose” will make its world premier Saturday in Oceanside — confirms he has never crashed into a giant antlered deer. However, he has experienced what he calls “dead moose” moments, and that’s what this musical is really about.
“When you’re that close to death, how much do you really know about life?” said Tafolla. “I was very interested in the idea of someone surviving a near-death experience and questioning whether them surviving was part of some destiny or higher plan, or if it was just a random incident.”
Writer-composer Tyler Tafolla at a rehearsal for his new musical “Dead Moose” at the Sunshine Brooks Theater in Oceanside. (Esteban Marin)
“Dead Moose,” co-produced by Oceanside Theatre Company and Tafolla Productions, is the fourth musical that Tafolla has written and produced. He got the idea for this show while attending AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) in Los Angeles and he debuted some of its first songs in 2018.
Tafolla describes the musical as a dark comedy that draws inspiration from both Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company,” both of which feature vignettes where the lead character revisits key moments from his past. But instead of having the Ghost of Christmas Past as his guide, the central character in “Dead Moose” is prodded along by the talking taxidermied head of the moose, which his parents have mounted on a wall in their home.
The lead character in “Dead Moose” is an 18-year-old named Job, inspired by the biblical character of the same name who was forced by God to undergo severe tests of faith. Tafolla said Job in the musical has a deeply rooted Christian faith, but the car accident leads him to question the bible stories he grew up with, including why the biblical Job was forced to undergo such devastating experiences to prove his spiritual loyalty.
Tafolla grew up in San Diego attending private Christian school and said that when he was first writing “Dead Moose” at AMDA, he had a light-bulb moment. “I realized I had a lot of thoughts on the nuances and complex relationships people have with religion, particularly when it comes to how people view death and an afterlife.”
In addition to dealing with the issue of faith, “Dead Moose” also tackles a lot of other serious subjects including themes of suicide, abuse, death, religious trauma, body shaming, homophobia and racism. As a result, the show has a “14 and up” age rating.
“From 14 years old on through my high school years was that coming-of-age time for me, when I truly began to look at all that I was being taught and all of my experiences with a kind of big-picture mindset,” he said. “I was able to ask those bigger questions for myself and really begin to form my own opinions about things.”
Tafolla said that while “Dead Moose” deals with the issue of faith, the goal of the musical is to encourage thought, not criticize religion or alienate believers.
“My hope is that this show can simply be a safe space for people to grapple with those bigger questions that they may not have been able to answer just yet or may not have felt confident enough to even consider,” Tafolla said. “There are many questions that Job goes searching for in this show that he does not get answered … and he learns that that is also OK. But what he does learn is what he should be putting his energy into.”
‘Dead Moose’
When: Preview, 8 p.m. tonight. Opens at 8 p.m. Saturday and runs through Feb. 1. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays (plus 3 p.m. Jan. 31)
Where: Oceanside Theatre Company at the Sunshine Brooks Theater, 217 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside
Tickets: $20-$40
Phone: 760-433-8900
Online: oceansidetheatre.org