After watching “Found,” you may want to scurry home and incinerate the following: leftover to-do lists, sarcastic notes on the refrigerator demanding that spouse do dishes, quickly scribbled life plans, attempts at blank verse made after taking Ambien.  Should you fail to do so, be warned that these bits of written detritus may not be safe from posterity, as this engaging oddball of a new musical attests.  “Found,” which opened on Tuesday night at the Atlantic Theater Company, derives its title and much of its text from the magazine of the same name, which publishes collections of such writings. (“You have to make up your mind Mr. Dickens, ’twas either the best of times or the worst of times; it could scarcely be both.”) Davy Rothbart, the founder of Found, the magazine, is basically the principal character, and the musical, with a book by Hunter Bell and Lee Overtree, and music and lyrics by Eli Bolin, tells the (semi-fictionalized) story of the “Eureka!” moment of the magazine’s birth and, eventually, its near-death by success.  In the opening scenes, Davy, played by the genially goofy, jug-eared Nick Blaemire, endures one of those miserable days when misfortune seems to assault you from all sides. He’s fired from his job at a Chicago alternative paper, and while wandering disconsolately along, is shorn of wallet, phone, belt and even shoes by a mugger. The car won’t start and, damn, there’s a ticket on the windshield.  Only what is apparently a ticket on the windshield turns out to be Davy’s passport to a new future. It’s not a summons or a fine, but an angry note left by one Amber to one Mario — persons unknown to Davy — accusing him of cheating on her. (“P.S. page me later,” it ends, somewhat equivocally.) Clearly Amber had a bad day, too, since Mario is destined never to see her bitter note. But for Davy, this random discovery inspires him to search out similarly discarded or lost writings on the streets of the city.  With rent looming and two roommates — his longtime best friend, Mikey D. (an endearingly scruffy Daniel Everidge) and Denise (a wry Barrett Wilbert Weed) — getting impatient with his gloomy slacking, Davy finds his mission in creating a magazine that publishes these scraps of anonymous literature, although to describe these often trivial or cryptic bits of writing by so august a name may be a stretch. “Dear Mom, summer camp is not fun anymore, everyone is dying,” runs one. Another: “You bring the paper bag, I’ll bring the handcuffs. ... Let’s party.”  Literature, anthropology, sociology, whatever. These delightfully weird notes provide Davy with purpose, and the musical with its singular appeal. The basic plot has respectable antecedents: It’s a contemporary version of let’s-put-on-a-show musicals like “Babes in Arms.” The growing pains of the magazine eventually lead to a moment of crisis, when Davy has to decide whether to become a sellout or stick to his gritty roots.  Mikey D. and Christina, who become Davy’s collaborators on the magazine and a tour of readings from it, are happy to let things grow organically. But when Davy becomes involved with Kate (Betsy Morgan), a television producer he meets at one of the readings, she urges him to come to Los Angeles and turn the magazine into a series.  Davy’s quandary isn’t particularly enthralling. The book, by Mr. Bell (star and co-author of “[title of show]”) and Mr. Overtree, who also directed, meanders about haphazardly, and the will-he-or-won’t-he plot doesn’t engender much suspense. But the formulaic beats of the narrative are continually freshened by the intrusion of dispatches from the magazine.  These are cleverly, often hilariously, woven into the story as sardonic commentary on the proceedings. When Davy irritates Denise by pompously saying, “I’m the face of the brand,” his statement is followed by this observation from a found note: “Pride the stench of mankind.”  Members of the supporting cast (including Danny Pudi, familiar to fans of “Community”) are used as an anonymous chorus, popping out from the wings to recite or sing some bit of scribbling that’s germane to what’s taking place in Davy’s life. Other writings become full musical numbers: A young boy’s desire to swap toys becomes a playful song called “Daniel’s Super Toy Trading Shop,” or a particularly cryptic note about the relationships among various species of felines turns into the loopy “Cats Are Cats,” which ends with an undecipherable word that appears to be “dlerd,” and is sung as such.  Mr. Bolin is the music director of Story Pirates, which makes musical theater for children based on their own writings. His music for “Found,” played by a six-person band embedded in David Korins’s set, treads the familiar line between show music and light pop-rock. It’s lively, likable and melodic, although, for the most part, the music takes a back seat to the lyrics. And Mr. Bolin’s lyrics for the more sincere “book” songs that propel the story, while respectable, are, in turn, overshadowed by the Mad Lib lunacy of the more bizarre found writings.  These acutely specific notes, usually intended to be read only by the recipient or addressee, are melancholy, rage-riddled, absurd and funny, and, like all resonant literature, they often hit upon universal feelings of loneliness, confusion, hurt or shame. And some are so gloriously strange that you’re grateful to Mr. Rothbart — and to the creators of this imperfect but endearing musical — for having saved them from oblivion so that the rest of us can savor their oddity. Definitely in this category is the girlfriend-wanted note left somewhere by a fellow looking for a woman who resembles “a mix between Charlize Theron, Carmen Electra and Susan Boyle.”  As if that’s not freaky enough, he respectfully requests that she arrive for their date “in costume as one of the four Ninja Turtles.” Good luck, buddy.  Book by Hunter Bell and Lee Overtree; music and lyrics by Eli Bolin; based on the “Found” books and magazines by Davy Rothbart; additional material created in collaboration with Story Pirates; directed by Mr. Overtree; choreography by Monica Bill Barnes; sets by David Korins; costumes by Theresa Squire; lighting by Justin Townsend; sound by Ken Travis; projections by Darrel Maloney; orchestrations by Frank Galgano and Matt Castle; music director, Mr. Castle; music coordinator, Michael Aarons; dramaturgy by Christian Parker; production stage manager, Mark Dubrow; production manager, Michael Wade; general manager, Jamie Tyrol. Presented by Atlantic Theater Company, Neil Pepe, artistic director; Jeffory Lawson, managing director. At the Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, 866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org. Through Nov. 9. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes.  WITH: Christina Anthony (Christina), Nick Blaemire (Davy), Andrew Call (Andrew), Daniel Everidge (Mikey D), Orville Mendoza (Orville), Betsy Morgan (Kate), Molly Pope (Molly), Danny Pudi (Danny), Sandy Rustin (Sandy) and Barrett Wilbert Weed (Denise).  A version of this review appears in print on October 15, 2014, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: Discovering Stories in the Words Left Behind. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe
“Found” is a funny musical based on the odd snatches of writing published in the magazine of that name.