The Sherman’s Next Act
On Jan. 7, 1929, the Sherman Theater opened at 524 Main Street in Stroudsburg as a vaudeville house, and according to the theater's own history, the headliners on opening night were Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Nearly a century later, the building is getting a $200,000 tune-up, and if the plans work out, it could one day double as an emergency shelter.
The Sherman spent most of the 20th century as a vaudeville stage turned movie house. A fire in the 1940s destroyed the roof, but the brick walls held and the theater was rebuilt. In the 1970s it was split into two screens, and by the mid-1980s its movie days were over. After changing hands several times, it limped through the 1990s with a mix of movies, concerts, and even church services.
Richard and Catharine Berkowitz led a restoration in the mid-2000s that brought live music back to the stage. The theater became a nonprofit in 2008, the nonprofit took full ownership in 2012, and today it hosts more than 240 events a year. In October 2025, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau took over management of the theater, which remains its own nonprofit. When we talked with Chris Barrett, president and CEO of the Visitors Bureau and the Sherman's general manager, soon after the handoff, he told us he sees the Sherman playing a much bigger role, booking a broader range of acts and becoming a driver of growth for downtown Stroudsburg.
Longtime readers may remember our June 10 History with a Twist on the brick arches Mr. Wintermute built under 522 Main after the flood of 1869, in the building that is now the Sherman Showcase next door. When we asked Barrett back in June whether those tunnels are still down there, his answer was: "Definitely tunnels under the Sherman... we aren't sure why they are there." We happen to know: Mr. Wintermute put them there.
Which brings us to this week's news. The Sherman received $200,000 from the state's Local Share Account program, which is funded by casino gaming revenue, part of nearly $1 million for eight projects announced by state Rep. Tarah Probst. According to the Pocono Record, the money will go toward structural repairs, heating and cooling, utilities, abating asbestos and mold in sealed-off areas, rehabilitating the stage, and a natural gas generator.
That generator brings another twist. Barrett told the Pocono Record he has talked with the county about using the building as a shelter in an emergency once the generator is installed. A 1929 vaudeville house as a storm shelter. Laurel and Hardy would have appreciated the gag.
The next act takes the stage tomorrow night: Mariachi El Bronx, with doors at 7 p.m.
