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Walking up the narrow steps of the Christian Street apartment with my five fellow audience members, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the one-man show we were about to see. Once the six of us were seated in the tiny disheveled apartment, we had a couple of minutes to take in the scene and breathe in the slightly funky smell before an alarm clock went off and Jason rolled out of bed.

Anthology Project’s ”Jason,” conceived and performed by Thomas Choinacky, is a quick peak into the worst morning of a man’s life “” the one after his estranged wife (the infamous Medea) murders their children and his beloved. Compounding matters, Jason seems to have drunk himself into oblivion the night before, and has a monster hangover.

There isn’t a lot of action in the play, which focuses on Jason’s emotional state, but it does have some humorous moments among the gloom, including a never-ending bladder-emptying and strange deliveries of decidedly modern children’s toys.

This is not your typical theater experience; it’s extremely intimate “” you’re never more than about 5 feet from the performer, thoroughly immersed in his life and environment, and witnessing him at his weakest and most raw. The show is a nice change of pace from your spacious theater with comfy chairs, and at a mere 30 minutes and $5, it fits nicely into a Monday evening. Plus, it has a killer soundtrack.

Anthology Project presents Jason
2047 Christian St, Philadelphia, PA
7 & 8 pm, February 23rd and March 2nd
Tickets $5, email Rachel@anthologyproject.org