Jennifer Aniston and boyfriend Jim Curtis surprise Sean Hayes in NYC

Jennifer Aniston and boyfriend Jim Curtis sent fans into meltdown on Friday night when they secretly turned up to support Sean Hayes at his one man play, The Unknown, in New York City.

The 57 year old actress and her 50 year old “love guru” partner were among a powerhouse crowd of A listers who packed into the Studio Seaview theatre to surprise their longtime friend.

Also in attendance were Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Bradley Cooper, who arrived with model girlfriend Gigi Hadid.

Sean, 55, later revealed the surprise on Instagram, posting a series of backstage snaps that he said were taken by Jim. One image showed him planting a kiss on Jennifer’s cheek, while another captured a glowing group shot featuring Sean and his husband Scott Icenogle alongside Will, Jesse, Jason and Jason’s wife Amanda Anka and director Will Speck.

Captioning the photos, Sean wrote: "This fun bunch caught me off-guard with their surprise visit to the play tonight. Jen, Jim & crew…you all warmed my heart. Thank you for coming."

He also shared a separate photo with Jason and Will, his co hosts on the SmartLess podcast, adding: "My dear friends. Thank you so much for coming to the play tonight."

Although Bradley and Gigi were not pictured backstage, footage obtained by PEOPLE showed them leaving the theatre together, with Gigi sweetly lifting Bradley’s hand to her lips as they exited.

The Unknown, written by David Cale and directed by Leigh Silverman, opened on January 31 and runs until April 12. In the gripping psychological thriller, Sean plays writer Elliott, who retreats to a remote cabin to battle writer’s block, only to suspect he is being stalked. The Tony Award winner takes on the extraordinary challenge of portraying 11 different characters in just 75 minutes.

Fans were ecstatic to see so many beloved sitcom faces reunited. With Jennifer forever tied to Friends, Sean synonymous with Will & Grace, Jason and Will known for Arrested Development and Jesse a standout on Modern Family, the backstage snap felt like a time machine to 90s and 2000s television glory.

Flooding the comments, fans wrote: "Now THAT's a lineup."; "Omg how fun!!!! I wanna be part of this clan lol"; "Awhhhhh that’s a good crew".

"Friends and Will and Grace in one picture, my two series"; "What a group ! Congrats, Sean ! You were great".

"What I would do to sit at a table with that crew"; "Friends and Will and Grace those were my Thursday Nights!!!"; "What a crew!!"

"All are Icons!! Now, make a fantastic movie all together!"; "Omg I want in this friend group."; "I want to be in your friend group".

The theatre date night came just one day before Jennifer and Jim celebrated their first Valentine’s Day together, marking another milestone in a relationship that has rapidly intensified over the past year.

The pair first sparked romance rumours during a Fourth of July trip to Mallorca, Spain. By September, Jim was supporting Jennifer at the season three premiere of her Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show.

They went Instagram official in November as he celebrated his 50th birthday, with Jennifer posting a photo of herself hugging him and writing: "Happy birthday my love. Cherished".

Jim returned the gesture for her 57th birthday, sharing a black and white photo of them kissing and another laughing together aboard a yacht, captioned: "HBD MY".

Speaking recently on the Today show, Jim explained how their relationship began: "We were introduced by friends. We found out that we had mutual friends and we started to just chat. It took a long time, but we chatted for a long time and became close."

A self described “transformational coach and hypnotherapist,” Jim’s career has also won Jennifer’s admiration. In an interview with Elle, she praised his work, saying: "Hypnotism is one of the many things that he does. He's quite extraordinary, and helps many, many people.

"He's very special, very normal, and very kind, and wants to help people heal, move through their trauma and stagnation into clarity. It's a beautiful thing to commit your life to."

With sitcom royalty reunited, romance milestones ticking by and Broadway buzz building, this glittering night out felt less like a simple theatre visit and more like a full blown Hollywood power summit.