Found: The Musical

If you’re looking for a creative new show, the Off-Broadway musical, Found is for you. The show is playing a limited engagement through the Atlantic Theater Company at the historic Linda Goss Theater. Found tells the story of Davey, a young man whose life is altered when he finds a handwritten note on his windshield that was intended for someone else. After finding the note, Davey keeps his eyes open for others, and ends up creating a magazine with everything he finds. The story also involves Davey’s love and loss along the way as the magazine’s success rises.

The cast of Found - Source: Broadway.com

What makes Found particularly special is that all of the notes featured in the show are real notes from the actual “Found Magazine” which inspired the show. The story’s narrative is driven by these notes; as dialogue is being exchanged by the main characters, ensemble members step on the stage and recite a note that offers some insight into the main characters’ heads. The notes become the main source of comedy for the audience, as what we are thinking in our heads is often more extreme than what actually comes out of our mouths. The notes are also the main source of the lyrics in the show and are often verbatim what is written. 

Never before have I seen a show quite like Found, since it draws it’s story and lyrics in such a unique way. The audience is easily able to keep up with the rapid-fire appearance of the notes, since as they are being read or sung, a projection of the actual thing is displayed on the stage. The cast does a magnificent job here with the material that they are given. Nick Blaemire, Davey, is able to make us sympathize and root for Davey, even when he is making selfish decisions. Barrett Wilbert Weed, who plays Davey’s complicated love interest, does a fine job revealing the pain of rejection and has the most superior voice in the cast. The ensemble seemingly outshines the main cast in their inventive delivery of the notes.

The cast of Found - Source: Playbill.com

The only true downside of Found is the actual dialogue between the characters, often feels forced, contrived, and can do little to compare to the notes. While it is a fantastic show, I don’t know that I can envision a future for it passed it’s Off-Broadway home in its current state. Since many of the songs in the show are just characters singing a note word for word, the music would not satisfy a traditional Broadway audience. However, Found is working just fine Off-Broadway, and there’s nothing wrong with staying there.