James Van Der Beek made a surprise video appearance during the Dawson's Creek fundraising reunion event on Monday after dropping out due to illness. "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, reports People. Van Der Beek then introduced his replacement, Lin-Manuel Miranda, joking that his kids would consider his understudy to be "an upgrade". Miranda played Van Der Beek's character, Dawson Leery, during the live script reading alongside the teen drama's original stars Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Kerr Smith, and Busy Philipps, among others. The cast also performed the show's theme song, I Don't Want To Wait by Paula Cole, alongside Van Der Beek's wife Kimberly and their six children.