Lee and J. J. Shubert, theatrical producers, set out to build a theater memorializing their brother, Sam, who had died several years earlier in a railroad accident.

In 1986, the stage and sound were modernized, and in 1991, the theatre was renamed and dedicated to John W. Merriam, a local entrepreneur, who was active for many years on the board of directors of the University of the Arts.

[7] The theater opened in 1918 with a road production of a musical from London and New York called Chu Chin Chow, featuring Florence Reed.

[8] In the early years, George Gershwin musicals and Al Jolson reviews graced the Shubert stage.

Other performers included: Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Sammy Davis Jr., Angela Lansbury, and Laurence Olivier.