‘A Sunny Morning’ is a refreshingly new romantic comedy. It tells the story of Don Gonzalo^and Dona Laura who was ardent lovers in their youth but was torn apart in life by fate. However, the two lovers meet again when they are in their 70s, not as lovers but as total strangers unexpectedly, in a park in Madrid. After a few initial heated exchanges and repartees, they settle down, occupy the same bench in the park, spend a good time together and depart as friends. By the time they are ready to leave for the day, they recognize each other’s identity. They do not disclose it but tell atrocious lies to conceal it. There are quite a few lively moments of humour, sarcasm and irony which entertain the readers and audience. The title A Sunny Morning’ is quite appropriate and aptly captures the spirit of the play. The play can be justifiably called a romantic comedy because there are elements of both romance and comedy in the play.
In its most general sense the word ‘romance’ suggests elements of gallant love, chivalry and adventure. The phrase ‘romantic comedy’ denotes a form of drama in which love is the main theme and love leads to a happy ending. A love affair is one of the major themes of a comedy. Keeping in view these points, ‘A Sunny Morning’ is a romantic comedy in all respects. It tells the story of two young lovers Laura Llorente and Don Gonzalo of Maricela in Valencia.
Laura Liorente was known in her locality as ‘The Silver Maiden’. She was in love with Gonzalo, a gallant lover. He used to pass by her house on horseback every morning through the rose garden and toss up a bouquet of flowers to her balcony which she caught. On his way back in the afternoon she would toss the flowers back to him. But Laura’s parents wanted to marry her off to a merchant whom she disliked. One day there ensued a quarrel, leading to a duel between Gonzalo and the merchant, her suitor. The merchant was seriously injured. Fearing serious consequences, Gonzalo fled from his house in the town to Seville and then to Madrid. Even though he tried to communicate with Laura through letters, his attempts failed and he gave her up as lost forever and ran off to Paris with a ballet dancer. Meanwhile, Laura waited for the news of Gonzalo, for one year and finally got married.
These two lovers meet unexpectedly, in a park. They are now in their 70s. Both of them have changed a lot physically but they still cherish the memories of their youth. However, when they meet in the park, they appear to be cynical, fussy and ill-natured. The way they repartee and express their resentment towards each other creates opportunities for humour in the play. Finally, they become friends after sharing a pinch of snuff. They gradually come to realize that they are the very same lovers of yester years.
The title A Sunny Morning’ suggests a warm and bright sunny day. Similarly, the play is also fresh in spirit, devoid of all cliches and stereotypes of earlier, traditional courtly comedies because both the characters and the situations are drawn from contemporary society.
