Now, it’s time for the ten locations on Friends that you can actually visit in the real world. At number ten, the Lucille Lortel theater is a real New York staple in the city’s West Village. In season three, the characters see Joey perform at Lucille Lortel throughout three episodes.
You might remember him falling in love with his co-star Kate while they shared the stage in the off-broadway play “Boxing Day.” The critics liked it just as much as his friends did! Read: not at all. In the same episode, Ben Stiller guest stars as Tommy, the guy Rachel has just started dating. He famously yells his head off at an elderly couple who sits in his and Rachel’s assigned theater seats.
Those theater seats are REAL, baby! Lucille Lortel Theatre is a total iconic landmark in New York City and has been since its opening in the 1920’s. Its marquis reads “New York’s Foremost Off-Broadway Theatre.” That makes it quite the high point of Joey’s acting career at that point in the series, as his agent Estelle reminds him. These days, the Lucille Lortel Theatre is still going strong. There are even the Lucille Lortel Awards for excellence in off-broadway performance. Stop by the theater to see this season’s best off-broadway shows and feel like a true Tribbiani superfan.
