For the first time in 22 years, the cast of Dawson’s Creek came together on stage in New York City. Fans packed into the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Monday, September 22, for a one-night-only charity event benefiting F Cancer. Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams led the live reading of the show’s pilot, joined by Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps. It was everything a die-hard fan could want, except one very important face was missing. Or so everyone thought.
James Van Der Beek, 48, the man forever linked with Dawson Leery’s angst-filled stares across Capeside, had announced just one day earlier that he wouldn’t be able to attend due to illness. In an Instagram post on September 21, he confessed he was “gutted” after being hit with not one but two stomach viruses. His wife Kimberly, though, promised she and their six kids would still show up. “Was important to him we come!!” she wrote.
But when the lights dimmed and the crowd braced for nostalgia, Van Der Beek appeared after all—virtually. His pre-recorded video filled the theater. “I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together,” he began, his voice tinged with disappointment. “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.”
Van Der Beek thanked the fans for their support, calling them “the best fans in the world.”
That wasn’t the only family moment of the night. Kimberly and two of their children joined the cast onstage to sing Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want To Wait,” the show’s iconic theme song. It was a raw reminder of why this reunion was happening: to raise money for F Cancer in honor of Van Der Beek, who revealed in November 2024 that he was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer.
The evening wasn’t short on surprises. Steven Spielberg, Dawson’s fictional idol throughout the series, sent in a video message. “Dawson, you made it. Maybe someday, I will get to have a Dawson’s closet,” the director quipped.
For Van Der Beek, this wasn’t just another Hollywood reunion. The actor has been brutally honest about his battle since disclosing his diagnosis. Speaking to People last year, he shared: “Miracles do happen—and they happen all the time. It’s scary at the onset. It’s overwhelming. Go easy on yourself. You got this.” His candid updates have even inspired strangers to get screenings. “When people say, ‘I got checked, I got a colonoscopy, I got a polyp removed’—just to save somebody that journey… that really makes me cry,” he admitted.
He described the past year as “the hardest of my life,” even posting a video titled What Cancer Taught Me on his birthday. Facing treatment and isolation, he shared that he had to redefine himself: “I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist. And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own?”
On Monday night, though, the message was simpler: gratitude. To the fans, to his castmates, and to his family. Even from afar, Van Der Beek managed to remind everyone why Dawson’s Creek was special.
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