Before Tyler Tafolla’s musical “Dead Moose” even begins, a group of bible verses from the Old Testament’s Book of Job are projected onstage about the battle between God and Satan for Job’s soul.

That’s one of the most unusual openings I’ve seen for a musical, but it’s apropos for the Christianity-themed show, which made its world premiere Saturday at Oceanside’s Sunshine Brooks Theater in a co-production by Oceanside Theatre Company and Tafolla Productions.

Tafolla — who grew up attending private Christian school in San Diego — wrote, scored, directed and co-designed the 90-minute musical, which is about an 18-year-old named Job facing his own test of faith.

Like the Job in the bible, the Job in “Dead Moose” is a fervent young Christian who becomes worn down mentally, physically and spiritually by a series of trials. He barely survives a head-on car collision with a running moose, his father is dead, his mother’s losing her battle with Alzheimer’s, his sister Joy is leaving town and the troubled girl he loves, Mabel, resists his proselytizing.

That makes “Dead Moose” sound like a didactic downer, but it’s not. The musical is lifted by Tafolla’s peppy and diverse 16-song score, humor-laced script, relatable characters and Chloe Chenfeld’s exuberant choreography. The story moves along quickly, but without a clear sense of where it’s going. I had a hard time figuring out the story’s overall point until its surprise conclusion.

Danny Holmes stars as Job, who manages to keep his youthful character likable despite questioning Joy’s life choices, his uninformed preaching to a gay man and his lack of sensitivity toward Mabel’s mental health struggles and unhappy home life.

Holmes leads a vocally talented cast that includes Salima Gangani as Joy, Lyric Boothe as Mabel, Joshua Powers as Joy’s loutish fiancé Hank, Audry Deubig as Job’s comically horrible blind date Candy and Chase Lowary as the Moose, who rises from the dead to accompany and counsel Job in his daily travels.

Some of the musical’s best songs are Job’s exuberant solo “Blue Hair,” about falling for the unorthodox Mabel, Joy’s faith-filled “An Unanswered Prayer,” Mabel’s fiery ballad “Fog and Telephone Poles” and Candy’s hilariously performed “Happily.” Job’s final solo, “The Prayer,” wraps the story up nicely.

Tafolla designed the scenery, projections and sound, with lighting by Kevin “Blax” Burroughs and costumes by Zoë Trautmann. On opening night, the show’s sound mix started out a little off, with the recorded music and background singers overwhelming the lead vocalist, so I had a hard time deciphering the lyrics at first.

While the play is about the true meaning of Christianity, playgoers don’t need a religious background to understand the story. But there are some adult themes in the story that make it unsuitable for grade school-age children.

‘Dead Moose’

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25; 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31; 3 p.m. next Sunday, Feb. 1

Where: Oceanside Theatre Company at the Sunshine Brooks Theater, 217 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside

Tickets: $20-$40

Phone: 760-433-8900

Online: oceansidetheatre.org