‘Friends’ Experience brings the hit TV show to life in interactive pop-up

Touting a full re-creation of Central Perk, a wigged-out display of Rachel’s evolving hairdos, even the chance to bug Ugly Naked Guy, the new interactive “Friends Experience — The One in Chicago” opening Thursday at The Shops At North Bridge couldn’t BE any more of dream come true for fans of the long-running television hit series.

The two-level pop-up (located at 540 N. Michigan Avenue) has been carefully assembled with an incredible eye for detail, offering 12 rooms and activations that resurrect the ‘90s classic TV series in all its glory. In addition to a look at actual scripts and original costumes utilized by the all-star cast, the main event is the numerous selfie-worthy spots that offer authentic re-creations, like Chandler and Joey’s apartment (complete with foosball table and recliners), the infamous “Pivot!” staircase and couch, and the iconic fountain featured in the show’s opening credits.

Created by Superfly X, the global entertainment group behind Bonnarroo and Outside Lands music festivals, “The Friends Experience” was first staged in 2019 in New York City and Boston to commemorate the show’s 25^th anniversary. Yet increasing fan demand encouraged creators to bring it to Chicago where the pop-up will enjoy one of its longest runs as well as one of its largest footprints, one of the unlikely benefits of social distancing guidelines the team is stringently adhering to as they get ready to open.

The measures include temperature checks upon entry, UV sterilization/ongoing cleaning of all surfaces, utilizing timed entry to ensure small groups of visitors, hand sanitizing stations throughout the experience and disinfecting wipes brilliantly tagged as being “Monica Clean!” In addition, face masks are required; for those who forget to bring one, “Friends”-themed designs will be available for purchase.

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“COVID was a challenge and disruption, of course, but for us it was important to keep going when we determined we could provide a safe experience for the fans and for the staff,” says Superfly X Founder and CEO Jonathan Mayers. “And look, what have we been doing during the pandemic but binging some of our favorite shows? This experience is as really as close as you can get to the show beyond just watching it and will hopefully be a joyful moment in these difficult times.”

The minutiae of details — even creating a ‘90s-era playlist that pipes through the speakers, full of Natalie Merchant and Cranberries hits as heard on the original TV show — brings visitors out of the 2020 doldrums with welcome nostalgia.

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“It brings you back to that time when a lot of us were younger and life was less stressful,” says Terry McMahon, the experience’s senior creative director and also a Chicago native who says he and his team dedicated copious amounts of hours into watching and re-watching the ten seasons of the show to bring the experience to life. The detail can be seen in features like the oversized “dating wall” that charts each of the main character’s trysts and paramours, and a touchless trivia game that pays homage to the infamous episode when Monica and Rachel challenged Chandler and Joey and end up losing their apartment to the guys.

“There is some data that is available to us, but honestly a lot of it came from watching episodes, looking at screenshots, seeing how sets change over the run of the show and what props are iconic across all the seasons,” McMahon says. In addition to a partnership with Warner Bros. Television Group to source items, he also worked closely with Pilsen’s Chicago Scenic Studios to bring the visions to life. “They were our major partner in figuring out our wall system to printing our graphics to building all the sets. They were just really integral part to us pulling off the scenes.”

“The One In Chicago” edition of “The Friends Experience” offers exclusives that weren’t available previously, including a full recreation of Monica and Rachel’s apartment, a throwback room featuring ephemera from the show’s various ‘80s flashback scenes and a full-blown Central Perk art installation made entirely of plastic toy building blocks.

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“We’ve had so much fandom come out that we wanted to highlight different areas we didn’t get to for the first two passes, and that came a lot from fan feedback on what they wanted to see,” says McMahon. The experience has previously attracted show regulars Maggie Wheeler (“Janice”) and James Michael Tyler (“Gunther”) as well as music acts The Rembrandts who penned the “Friends” theme song. There’s no word yet if David Schwimmer — co-founder of Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater just down the street — will pay a visit, though the team would love it.

In addition to general admission tickets, fans can opt for a private access option starting at $350 that allows their “quarantine bubble” of 6-10 people to enjoy it together. Non-ticketholders can also visit the retail store during hours of operation.

Selena Fragassi is a local freelance writer.

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