The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker.

First edition of Liam O’Brien’s hit Broadway comedy. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with photographs of the original production. Presentation copy, inscribed and signed to him by two members of the original cast on the verso of the dedication page: Una Merkel, who played Aunt Jane Pennypacker, “To Alan, with deepest affection, Una,” and Glenn Anders, who played Dr. Fifield, that signed above. From the library of director Alan Schneider, with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper, “Alan Schneider May 1954 New York City (From Random House).” Alan Schneider directed the original Broadway production of The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker, which opened at the Coronet Theatre on December 30, 1953, starred Burgess Meredith and Martha Scott, and ran for 221 performances. Schneider was among the foremost American directors of his generation and the great champion of the postwar stage in the United States: he directed the American premiere of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in 1956 and remained Beckett’s preferred American director, staged the United States premieres of Pinter’s plays from the 1962 off-Broadway double bill of The Dumb Waiter and The Collection through the Broadway premiere of The Birthday Party in 1967, and won the 1963 Tony Award for Best Direction for the original production of Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Near fine in a very good dust jacket with light wear to the extremities. An exceptional association copy, uniting the director and two stars of the original production.