Longtime Sheltering Arms Supporters Watkins and Riddick to be Honored
With a history of more than 120 years, Sheltering Arms has many longtime supporters. Two of its most generous and influential supporters, however, are Robert Watkins and deVeaux Riddick. The two mainstays of Richmond theater were asked in 1957 to help Sheltering Arms create a new fundraiser. The event they helped create, the Bal du Bois, continues to be an annual tradition, and Watkins and Riddick have designed the set for every one since its inception.
The two men will be honored this Friday night by the Woman’s Club, where many of their plays have been staged. The evening will celebrate their decades of contributions to local theater. The Richmond Times-Dispatch today ran a story on the upcoming event…
The evening will focus on the 22-year run of drawing-room comedies Watkins and Riddick staged at the theater of the Bolling Haxall House, the downtown Richmond home of the Woman’s Club for more than 100 years. But it’s more than that, said organizer Ann Belk and countless others who have known and worked with Watkins and Riddick through the years.
The evening is called “As Far As Love Can Reach,” and will feature nine love scenes from some of Watkins and Riddick’s most memorable plays. It will take place at the theater at Bolling Haxall House. For more about Riddick and Watkins, and for information on how to attend “As Far As Love Can Reach,” check out the article in today’s Times-Dispatch.
