Lin-Manuel Miranda will replace him<\/p>\n
\n\tJames Van Der Beek<\/a>\u00a0announced Sunday that he is forced to drop out of the live Dawson\u2019s Creek reunion due to illness. Lin-Manuel Miranda will replace him for the reading of the pilot script.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe event is set to feature Dawson\u2019s Creek original stars Michelle Williams,\u00a0Katie Holmes,\u00a0Joshua Jackson,\u00a0Busy Phillips, Mary Beth Peil,\u00a0Mary-Margaret Humes, John Wesley Shipp,\u00a0Nina Repeta,\u00a0Kerr Smith,\u00a0and Meredith Monroe. The one-night-only event will benefit the F Cancer Organization and is set to take place in New York City.<\/p>\n \n\tVan Der Beek shared the news on Instagram, explaining that he contracted \u201ctwo stomach viruses\u201d that knocked him \u201cout of commission.\u201d The actor was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer<\/a> last year after undergoing a colonoscopy.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis is the evening I\u2019d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January\u2026 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,\u201d he wrote. \u201cDespite every effort\u2026 I won\u2019t get to be there.\u00a0 I won\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVan Der Beek joked that his \u201cunderstudy,\u201d Miranda, would be a more-than-excellent replacement to play Dawson Leery for the night.<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBut I DO have an understudy,\u201d he wrote. \u201cA ridiculously overqualified replacement who would have been\u00a0#1<\/a>\u00a0on my wishlist (had I ever dreamed he\u2019d be available). Someone my kids would definitely consider an upgrade over me\u2026 Plus, he already knows how to get to the theater.\u00a0 So that\u2019s convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n \t