James Van Der Beek surprises fans at ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion for sweet reason after cancelling due to illness
James Van Der Beek recently made a surprise appearance at a 'Dawson's Creek' reunion charity event, which took place on Monday, September 22, 2025, after previously opting out due to stomach illness amid his battle with colorectal cancer.. While Van Der Beek couldn't be present at the event held at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York City in person, he still marked his presence through a pre-recorded video that was played on stage. In the video, Van Der Beek thanked all his fans for buying the tickets to the event, and he also introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda as his understudy."I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together," Van Der Beek began by saying, as per People magazine.
Van Der Beek further added, "I can't believe I'm not there. I can't believe I don't get to see my cast mates, my beautiful cast in person. And just I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight. From the cast to the crew to everybody who's doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world."
The 'Varsity Blues' star continued, "Thank you for coming. It's just absolutely humbling just how much you did for this night, and I just want to say thank you. Thank you to every single person here. And, obviously, on Dawson's Creek, I had an understudy, but this is a problem... and, we figured trying to find somebody who had never understudied in this theater before." Soon after, Van Der Beek stated that Miranda would be his replacement for the event.
On September 21, a day before the event, Van Der Beek took to his Instagram page and told his followers he won't be able to attend the event. Then, Van Der Beek wrote, "This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January…So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment."
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Van Der Beek, who announced his cancer diagnosis in November 2024, went on to say, "Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there. I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most. But I DO have an understudy. A ridiculously overqualified replacement who would have been #1 on my wishlist (had I ever dreamed he’d be available). Someone my kids would definitely consider an upgrade over me… Plus, he already knows how to get to the theater. So that’s convenient."