Van Der Beek, who has been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer, was unable to participate in the benefit reading organized by his former ‘Dawson’s Creek’ castmates due to “two stomach viruses.”
The reunion saw Lin-Manuel Miranda step in for Van Der Beek, reading the pilot for the series with series stars Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Busy Phillips. The event was held at the Richard Rodgers Theatre—home of Hamilton —as a one-night only charity event in partnership with F Cancer .
Although he wasn’t able to attend in person, Van Der Beek did make a surprise virtual appearance. Wearing a newsboy cap, white T-shirt, and brown jacket, a visibly thinner Van Der Beek addressed the audience in a prerecorded message. “I’ve been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together,” began Van Der Beek. “I can’t believe I’m not there. I can’t believe I don’t get to hug my castmates, my beautiful cast in person.” Dawson’s alum Jason Moore directed the event, which was produced by Williams, Kail, Moore, Carl Ogawa, Maggie Brohn, Kevin Williamson, and Greg Berlanti. “I wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight,” Van Der Beek continued. “From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s donated time and been so generous, and especially every single last one of you—you are the best fans in the world.” He went on to thank the attendees, calling the experience “humbling” before ending his video message by introducing Miranda. “Obviously, on Dawson’s Creek, I had no understudy. But this is Broadway, and I needed one. So we figured we’d try to find somebody who had never understudied in this theater before.” While Van Der Beek was recuperating in bed at his home in Austin, Texas, his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah, made it inside the Richard Rodgers theater. It “was important to him that we come,” wrote Kimberly in a comment on her husband’s Instagram post. Van Der Beek’s family even joined the cast onstage to sing Dawson’s Creek’s unforgettable theme song, “I Don’t Want to Wait,” by Paula Cole. Olivia, 14, began the song as a solo with her younger sister Emilia, 9, joining her as the cast watched on. The crowd erupted into thunderous applause for the two girls before the rest of the cast joined them and Kimberly and the rest of the children came onstage to share in the moment. Van Der Beek has remained optimistic in the face of his diagnosis “Miracles do happen—and they happen all the time,” he told People in November 2024. “It’s scary at the onset. It’s overwhelming. Go easy on yourself. You got this.” Original story published in Vanity Fair Italia.
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