James Van Der Beek Makes Surprise Appearance at Dawson’s Creek Reunion After Canceling Due to Illness

## What Happened * Van Der Beek was scheduled to attend a **“Dawson’s Creek Class Reunion”** charity event on September 22, 2025, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. ([People.com][1]) * The event was a live reading of the show’s 1998 pilot episode by many of the original cast members. ([EW.com][2]) * The reunion was held to benefit **F Cancer**, a charity focused on cancer research/prevention. ([Harper's BAZAAR][3]) --- ## Why He Cancelled * Van Der Beek withdrew from attending **in person** due to illness — specifically he said he had contracted **two stomach viruses**. ([People.com][1]) * He is also publicly battling **Stage 3 colorectal cancer**, which he had revealed in November 2024. ([People.com][1]) --- ## His Surprise Appearance * Although he couldn’t be there physically, he made a **pre-recorded video appearance** which was played during the event. ([People.com][1]) * In the video, he expressed how much he’d been looking forward to the reunion, his regret for not being there, his gratitude to the fans, cast, and organizers, and introduced **Lin-Manuel Miranda** as his “understudy” who would take his place in reading his role of Dawson Leery. ([EW.com][2]) --- ## Noteworthy Moments * His wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their children attended the event. ([People.com][1]) * During the performance, the family joined the cast on stage to sing the show’s theme song, “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole. ([People.com][1]) * Two of his daughters, Olivia and Emilia, performed a solo moment, beginning to sing, and were joined by others. ([People.com][4]) --- If you want, I can send you the full transcript of his video message, or pictures/videos from the event. Do you want that? * [People.com](https://people.com/james-van-der-beek-makes-surprise-appearance-dawsons-creek-reunion-after-canceling-due-illness-11815128?utm_source=chatgpt.com) * [EW.com](https://ew.com/dawsons-creek-reunion-james-van-der-beek-surprise-video-message-11815177?utm_source=chatgpt.com) * [Harper's BAZAAR](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a68015863/dawsons-creek-class-reunion-performance-nyc-james-van-der-beek-surprise-video/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [1]: https://people.com/james-van-der-beek-makes-surprise-appearance-dawsons-creek-reunion-after-canceling-due-illness-11815128?utm_source=chatgpt.com "James Van Der Beek Makes Surprise Appearance at \"Dawson's Creek\" Reunion After Canceling Due to Illness" [2]: https://ew.com/dawsons-creek-reunion-james-van-der-beek-surprise-video-message-11815177?utm_source=chatgpt.com "James Van Der Beek surprises audience at \"Dawson's Creek\" reunion with emotional video message after canceling over illness" [3]: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a68015863/dawsons-creek-class-reunion-performance-nyc-james-van-der-beek-surprise-video/?utm_source=chatgpt.com "The Dawson's Creek Cast Assembled for an Emotional Reunion" [4]: https://people.com/james-van-der-beeks-daughters-perform-surprise-solo-during-emotional-dawsons-creek-reunion-11814756?utm_source=chatgpt.com "James Van Der Beek's Daughters Perform Surprise Solo During ..."