James van der Beek took him to Instagram on Sunday evening to reveal that he would not be attending Monday’s Dawson Creek reunion due to stomach illness. The actor announced last November that he had been diagnosed with third stage colorectal cancer.
Luckily he has a study that acquired Tony, who replaced him at the table: Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“This is the night I’ve been looking forward to most since my angel Michelle Williams came back in January and told me he was putting it all together,” he wrote. “So I can imagine how broken I was when two stomach viruses knocked me out of the fees and conspired to ground me at the worst possible moment.
“But I have an understudy,” he continued. “A ridiculously overqualified alternative that should have been number one on my wish list (maybe I dreamed he could be available). My kids will definitely consider an upgrade above me… Plus, he already knows how to go to the theatre.
The reunion, first announced in August, is watching the original cast of “Dawson Creek” for the first time since rapping in 2003. The event benefits F Cancer and van der Beek and features a table lead from the show’s 1998 pilot episode. Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Pale, John Wesley Ship, Mary Margaret Humes, Nina Lepeta, Car Smith, Meredith Monroe and busy Phillips will all be present. Phillips, Smith and Monroe, who joined the cast after the first season, read a variety of roles from the pilot.
Jason Moore, who directed three episodes of WB Teen Drama, is the director of the reunion.
“I’m so grateful and excited and I’m excited that everyone is coming together overnight to honor James and have sex with cancer,” Williamson told Variety earlier this month. “In addition to reading the pilot, Jason has some amazing surprises in the store.”
The evening will be produced by Carl Ogawa, Jason Moore, Michelle Williams, Thomas Kyle, Maggie Bloon, and series creators Kevin Williamson and Greg Berlanti.
Miranda is best known as the author and star of the Broadway sensation Hamilton, which is currently being shown in theaters around the country. He has also appeared in films such as The Strange: The Tale of Al Jankovich, Tick, Tick… Boom!” TV shows such as “In the Heights,” “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” “Big Mouth,” “His Dark Materials,” and “Bluey.”
