“This night was so special to the whole family,” Kimberly Van Der Beek shared after the reunion, as Lin-Manuel Miranda also opens up about stepping in for James at the last minute and shares a look behind the scenes.
James Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly, is reflecting on the “special” Dawson’s Creek reunion, expressing her gratitude to all of those who made the night happen — despite her husband’s absence.
On Monday, the cast of the teen drama reunited in New York City for a reunion event to benefit F Cancer. Van Der Beek — who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2024 — wasn’t able to attend, citing “two stomach viruses” for his absence. In his place, Lin-Manuel Miranda — who is close friends with star Michelle Williams’ husband Thomas Kail — stepped in to play Dawson Leery as the show’s stars — including Williams, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps — did a live reading of the WB show’s pilot.
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Following the reunion, Kimberly — who made an appearance at the event alongside her and Van Der Beek’s kids — opened up about the reunion on her Instagram Stories, sharing a series of heartfelt videos, in which she thanked all of those who made the event possible.
“I just got off with James, digesting the whole night tonight, and Michelle Williams was the brainchild of this night. It was such a gift,” began Kimberly, who shares Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, and Jeremiah with Van Der Beek.
She thanked Kail — who has collaborated with Miranda on his musicals, including Hamilton — for making “so many of the kids’ dreams come true on this trip,” referring to Kail and Williams as “exquisite, fairy angel humans.”
The mom of six went on to thank director Kevin Williamson and Dawson’s Creek creator Jason Moore for the special reunion event, and producer Greg Berlanti, while expressing her gratitude towards the show’s cast, shouting them out by name.
“The entire cast has been beyond words. Words will never do justice for their support,” Kimberly said, sharing that Mary-Margaret Humes, who starred as Van Der Beek’s mother in Dawson’s Creek, sends cookies to the actor on his birthday every year, adding that she “just knows my kids, and just sends the sweetest messages all the time.”
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She went on to share what the reunion meant to Van Der Beek and their family.
“This night was so special to the whole family, and more importantly, like just feeling my husband fill the entire theater, and the love for him,” Kimberly said. “We’ll be unwinding this one for a while, but thank you for the love and support and for the prayers, cause right here, front and center, is my husband on my heart.”
“It was a beautiful night, and I miss my husband. I can’t wait to go see him tomorrow,” she concluded, before later thanking F Cancer for being “incredible supportive.”
Kimberly posted and reshared a handful of photos and videos from the reunion on her Stories, including a sweet video of Kimberly and her kids joining the cast on stage for a performance of the Dawson’s Creek theme song, “I Don’t Want to Wait.”
She also shared a selfie of herself posing alongside Williams, Holmes, and Phillips on her Instagram, writing, “Going deeper with these ladies has been so bitter sweet. They are magic, kind, gifted, heart forward and… sacred. Missed my guy so. But the support and the love has been healing to the core. Will post more along the way. This was a fun spontaneous one as we all ran up and down several flights of stairs to our dressing rooms.”
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While Van Der Beek wasn’t able to make a physical appearance at the reunion, he did appear in a special video message, thanking fans for showing up and introducing his understudy to those in attendance.
“I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together. 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 told the crowd.
“And just I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight,” he continued. “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.”
“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,” he joked, introducing Miranda, whose Hamilton was staged at the same Richard Rogers Theater.
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Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Miranda shared a lengthy post on Instagram, in which he opened up about his experience filling in for Van Der Beek for the special event.
Alongside a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the reunion, the Hamilton creator began, “Kail called over the weekend: @vanderjames caught a virus and was unable to travel to NY for the Dawson’s Creek reunion Monday. Now I’m godfather to Tommy and Michelle’s kid, so filling in for Dawson last minute falls under general coverage.”
“What happened next was for me, more like being in an episode of Quantum Leap; I had the immense privilege of being present as an understudy so that people’s love for James, his family, and this incredible cast and show could reverberate all around the Rodgers and the world. Even got to be back onstage w @reneeelisegoldsberry,” he continued, referring to his Hamilton co-star Renée Elise Goldsberry, who narrated the event.
The Tony winner added that he “texted pictures and videos to James all through rehearsal and the evening,” before sharing a few words about each photos, including a hilarious side-by-side of the popular memes of himself as Alexander Hamilton and Van Der Beek as his titular character in Dawson’s Creek, in which they both make overly dramatic crying faces.
Kimberly commented on Miranda’s post, “You. If it was to be anybody, it had to be you. Thank you 🙏.”
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