Di tsvey Kuni-Leml

Di tsvey Kuni-Leml ("The Two Kuni-Lemls") is a Yiddish comedy in four acts by Avrom Goldfaden (1840-1908)[1].

The title appears in various forms in different publications, including Tsvey Kuni Lemel, Zwei Kuhne Lemels, Shnei Kuni Leml and שני קוני למל

The original text

Set in Odessa and Krakow, the play deals with issues of family, love, marriage, assimilation, religious tradition, tradition vs. modernity and Jewish Communal Affairs.

First performed in 1880 and published in 1887. Published by the New York Hebrew Publishing Company as Tsvey Kuni Lemel.

Translations and adaptations

Adapted as a film called The Flying Matchmaker (also: Two Kuni Lemel, Shnei Kuni Leml or שני קוני למל) is a 1966 Israeli film musical directed by Israel Becker. The story is based on the 1880 Yiddish play.

Performance history in South Africa

1890s: Performed as Zwei Kuhne Lemels by the Jewish Dramatic Society (founded in 1896), possibly at the Baltic House Hall in Fox Street, Johannesburg.

Sources

Gustav Saron and Louis Hotz. 1955. The Jews In South Africa - A History. Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, Cape Town, London, New York, 1955.

https://jewish-music.huji.ac.il/content/tsvey-kuni-lemel

https://web.uwm.edu/yiddish-stage/plotting-yiddish-drama/di-tsvey-kuni-leml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Goldfaden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker

Go to ESAT Bibliography