First Monday in October

About the show

The play begins after the death of Stanley Moorehead, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The remaining justices speculate about whom the President of the United States will appoint to fill the vacancy, with jokes among the justices that the appointee may be a black man, or a woman. While playing tennis, Ruth Loomis, a staunch conservative judge from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, learns that she is to be the nominee. Associate Justice Daniel Snow is appalled to learn this, as her conservative views are strongly in conflict with his own liberal thinking. Loomis testifies before the United States Senate, and is questioned about the business ties of her late husband. The Senate confirms her, and she is the first woman appointed to the US Supreme Court. On the court, Loomis and Snow immediately clash on their opposing legal and philosophical viewpoints, on such matters as freedom of speech and individual rights vs. the rights of society as a whole. One case concerns a fictional pornographic film, The Naked Nymphomaniac. Although Snow and Loomis never concur on any of the issues before the Court, they learn to develop a respect and affection for one another with the passing of time.