James Van Der Beek is unable to appear in the Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event, so Broadway icon Lin-Manuel Miranda will step in for the actor amid his cancer battle.
The show must go on:
James, who played the eponymous Dawson, took to Instagram to share how “gutted” he is.
“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. 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.”
The cast of the beloved WB teen drama series, including Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Kerr Smith, and Busy Philipps, is set to reunite at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in NYC for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode to benefit F Cancer and Van Der Beek, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer last year.
James wrote, “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.”
The understudy:
In a moment of levity, James joked about his “ridiculously overqualified replacement.”
James announced Lin-Manuel Miranda will read for Dawson Leery. He added, for the record, the Hamilton creator/star “who would have been #1 on my wishlist (had I ever dreamed he’d be available).”
Lin-Manuel is “someone my kids would definitely consider an upgrade over me… Plus, he already knows how to get to the theater, so that’s convenient.”
James asked that “Everyone please enjoy all the love in that room. Shine some on my family. I will be beaming and receiving from afar in a bed in Austin. He referenced Lin-Manuel’s role in Moana to share his gratitude. “Thank you @lin_manuel. You were a hero to my kids before. Now you’re a demigod 😇.”
