James Van Der Beek’s Kids Steal the Show with Surprise Performance at 'Dawson’s Creek' Reunion

I'm not crying, you are

JamesVanDerBeek
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Monday night was a major nostalgia moment for Dawson's Creek fans, as the stars of the show reunited at New York City's Richard Rodgers Theatre for a special event benefiting F Cancer.

The cast of the beloved WB teen drama—including Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps—came together for a live reading of the show's original pilot episode. The event raised funds for the charity and served as a tribute to their costar James Van Der Beek, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer last year.

Unfortunately, Van Der Beek wasn't able to attend, citing "two stomach viruses" for his absence. But his wife and kids were there—and his daughters absolutely stole the show.

DawsonsCreek
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for F Cancer

It all started near the end of the evening, when Hamilton’s Renée Elise Goldsberry, who narrated the event, led the cast in a singalong of Paula Cole's iconic "I Don't Want to Wait," aka the Dawson's Creek theme song.

Joining everyone on stage was Van Der Beek's wife, Kimberly, along with their six children: four daughters—Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, and Gwendolyn—and two sons, Joshua and Jeremiah. At one point in the singalong, a brief pause allowed Olivia and Emilia to step on stage. Olivia began singing the lyrics solo while the rest of the group smiled on, with Emilia joining in shortly after.

The crowd erupted in applause as the cast and audience finished out the song together.

Although Van Der Beek couldn’t be there in person, he did share a heartfelt Instagram message the day before.

"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," the actor began his lengthy Instagram message. "So 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."

"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," Van Der Beek wrote, noting that Lin-Manuel Miranda would be stepping in for him at the event. "Thank you @lin_manuel. You were a hero to my kids before… now you’re a demigod."

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