The cast of Dawson's Creek reunited for the first time since the series wrapped in 2003. On Monday, September 22, 2025, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Kerr Smith, Nina Repeta, Busy Philipps, and Meredith Monroe took the stage for a live reading of the show's pilot episode.The special cast reunion was held at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York to raise money for F Cancer and the show's star, James Van Der Beek, who has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Van Der Beek, who was scheduled to attend the script reading and voice his character in the series, Dawson Leery, had to bow out of the event at the last minute due to illness.He wrote about missing the reunion on his Instagram early on Monday, saying:"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." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostVan Der Beek said that two stomach viruses "knocked [him] out of commission," but he also presented his "ridiculously overqualified" understudy, who will play his role of Dawson in the script reading: Lin-Manuel Miranda.More from Dawson's Creek 'class reunion' benefitWhile James Van Der Beek missed out on reuniting with the rest of the Dawson's Creek cast members during the benefit event in New York on September 22, the actor still made a surprise appearance on video. He appeared onscreen and shared a video message before and after the script reading. In the first video, Van Der Beek acknowledged missing the event, saying:"I can't believe I don't get to hug my cast mates. I wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight."Following the script reading of the show's pilot episode, James Van Der Beek returned onscreen. He talked about how his Dawson's Creek character is very similar to the Phantom of the Opera in a way that the woman they loved also loved someone else. James Van Der Beek also introduced Norn Lewis for his performance of The Music of the Night.James Van Der Beek appeared on video on the Dawson's Creek reunion (Image via Andrew Toth/Getty Images)Dawson's hero throughout the show, Steven Spielberg, also made a surprise appearance during the event. He has a video message addressed to Van Der Beek's character, saying, "Dawson, you made it. Maybe someday, I will get to have a Dawson's closet."While the actor wasn't able to personally come to the event, his wife, Kimberly, and their daughters were able to join the rest of the cast. His daughters both sang verses during Renée Elise Goldsberry's rendition of Paula Cole's I Don't Want to Wait performance at the end of the night. The rest of the cast also joined onstage to sing along to the show's theme song.Another Dawson's Creek alum, Jason Moore, directed the event. The reunion event was reportedly Michelle Williams' idea, per Variety. She reportedly reached out to the show's creator, Kevin Williamson, about doing the event around a month after James Van Der Beek announced that he had stage 3 colorectal cancer.Williamson told the outlet that he "jumped at the idea" and that the rest of the cast was also excited to do it and was generous with their time.Besides the tickets for the event, the cast also reportedly donated items to auction, including Gail's earrings and the original oil painting that the class reunion poster was based on, per Variety.