‘Dawson’s Creek’ Reunion Was Michelle Williams’ Idea, Sets Auction, Photo Ops

The “Dawson’s Creek” reunion all started with Michelle Williams. One month after James Van Der Beek announced that he’d been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer, Williams reached out to creator Kevin Williamson.

“I jumped at the idea,” Williamson tells Variety exclusively. “She enlisted me, Thomas [Kail] and Greg [Berlanti] to help. From there, others joined the planning party. Jason Moore agreed to direct, and we were off and running. Picking a date took some time but our entire ‘Dawson’s Creek’ family was excited to do this and very accommodating and generous with their time.” 

The event, set for Sept. 22, will benefit F Cancer and Van Der Beek, will be a live reading of the show’s 1998 pilot episode at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City. Van Der Beek, Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps are set to attend. While Philipps, Smith and Monroe joined the show after the first season as Audrey, Jack and Andie, they will read different roles from the pilot episode.

Variety can also exclusively announce that Renée Elise Goldsberry will serve as the narrator for the event; as an original “Hamilton” cast member, this marks her return to the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Kail, Williams’ husband, directed “Hamilton.”

When tickets originally went on sale, they sold out in minutes. Additional tickets will be available now on BroadwayDirect.com, with ticket prices from $199 to $1500.

“I was blown away by the reaction,” Williamson says. “I’m so thrilled our show has made such a lasting impact and continues to resonate with fans today.”

In addition to new tickets, an auction will also go live today on CharityBuzz.com, with items cast members and producers have donated. Some items on the auction include a dinner in New York City with Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips; the original oil painting that was the basis for the “Dawson’s Creek” class reunion poster; Gail’s earrings that Dawson gave to Joey in “The Anti-Prom;” individual zooms with Greg Berlanti, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec to ask burning “Dawson’s Creek” (or “Scream” or “We Were Liars”) questions; and an original hand-signed, limited edition (#7 of the series) Hirschfeld lithograph of the “Dawson’s Creek” cast.

“The cast is pulling some items from their personal collection, and more items will continue to be added to the auction over the next week — so keep checking back,” Williamson says.

Additionally, the cast will be posing for photo ops with fans after the stage reading at the event, which can be purchased for $650 per photo. The ticket includes a digital photo with the cast and can include up to two fans in one photo; no personal photography is allowed and photo op tickets do not include event tickets. Additionally, you must have a ticket for the event to access the photo opportunity.

“I’m so grateful and excited that everyone is coming together for one night to honor James and Fuck Cancer,” adds Williamson. “In addition to the pilot reading, Jason has some pretty amazing surprises in store.”