FOUND at the Atlantic Theater - Trash Transformed to Treasure

The new musical FOUND at the Atlantic Theater is quirky fun, spun from actual notes discovered on discarded debris.  These anonymous notes lay bare raw emotions & ironic candor.  The actual notes were collected & self-published in FOUND magazine.  The play centers on Davey, an unemployed writer who becomes engaged in finding scattered papers containing message fragments. These findings amass to reflect philosophical, quixotic comments.  Davy performs stand-up readings at the urging of his roommate, Denise (Barrett Weed in a marvelous performance.)  As the readings grow in popularility,  the idea to publish a collection of these notes flourishes into the magazine "Found" with the help of Davy's other roommate & lifelong friend Mikey (Daniel Everidge in a very comedic & likeable performance.)  The talented ensemble cast all play multi-characters with charm & wit.  The musical numbers are sung beautifully by the cast; Christina (Christina Anthony) was a standout with her lovely singing voice & mercurial transformations.  The show's themes:  finding success, trust, love & adhering to one's ideals are cleverly bound with a pastiche of readings & visual postings of these notes dispersed within the storyline.  The musical score & orchestration by Franka Galgano & Matt Castle is as good if not better than what is found in B'wy musicals. The "Cats Are Cats" song is a wink to CATS based loosely on poems by T.S. Eliot.  The jetsam uncovered here among the trash is no less profound or poetic.  Seek out this innovative & thoroughly entertaining show at the Atlantic Theater.  It is a rare gem to be treasured but may lose its way if moved to B'wy.