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

James Van Der Beek made a surprise virtual appearance at a Dawson’s Creek reunion charity event held on Monday, Sept. 22, after previously dropping out due to illness.

While Van Der Beek, 48, was unable to attend the charity event held at the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York City in person, he appeared via a pre-recorded video that was projected onstage. In the video, the actor thanked fans for purchasing tickets to the event, and 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. “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.”

He continued, “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.”

“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,” he said. “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.”

He then introduced his replacement for the event, Miranda, whom he joked his kids would consider an “upgrade.”

In an Instagram post shared on Sunday, Sept. 21 — just one day before the one-night-only charity event — the 48-year-old actor wrote that he was “gutted” after developing two different stomach viruses, but assured fans that he would have an “understudy,” who he confirmed to be Miranda, 45. Van Der Beek cited “two stomach viruses” as his reason for dropping out.

Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, said she still planned to attend with the couple’s children. “Was important to him we come!!” she wrote.

During the event, Kimberly and the couple’s children joined the cast onstage to sing Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want To Wait,” which served as the show’s theme song.

The cast of the beloved WB teen drama series — including Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps — reunited at the Richard Rodgers Theatre 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.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Dawson’s alum Jason Moore directed the event, which was produced by Carl Ogawa, Moore, Williams, Thomas Kail, Maggie Brohn, Kevin Williamson and Greg Berlanti. The original show aired for six seasons from 1998 to 2003, and tackled pivotal topics in the coming-of-age genre.

Van Der Beek has been candid about his journey with cancer after he announced his diagnosis in November 2024.

While speaking about his health journey to PEOPLE in November 2024, Van Der Beek said he was feeling good and offered some advice for others going through something similar.

“Miracles do happen — and they happen all the time,” he said. “It’s scary at the onset. It’s overwhelming. Go easy on yourself. You got this.”

“I’ve really been so blessed with my wife and kids,” he added. “I’ve got a lot to live for, and it’s a beautiful life.”