Hut, Hut, Hike

by Kenneth Jones

A college football star is one bad grade away from losing everything — his scholarship, his endorsements, even his shot at the NFL. The problem? He’s flunking a class he never took seriously: Modern Drama. When he’s paired with a bookish theater major as a last-chance tutor, an unexpected intimacy rewrites the carefully planned playbooks of both their lives. Bridging the worlds of sports and the arts, "Hut, Hut...

A college football star is one bad grade away from losing everything — his scholarship, his endorsements, even his shot at the NFL. The problem? He’s flunking a class he never took seriously: Modern Drama. When he’s paired with a bookish theater major as a last-chance tutor, an unexpected intimacy rewrites the carefully planned playbooks of both their lives. Bridging the worlds of sports and the arts, "Hut, Hut, Hike" is a sexy, brutal and bittersweet coming-of-age story about ambition, intimacy and fumbling your way toward an identity you can live with.
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A 2026 O'Neill NPC Finalist!
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From the author: A play about college, innocence, corruption, ambition, sex, intimacy, trauma, healing, sports, theater, attraction, identity, success, and which path is the right one.

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Hut, Hut, Hike

Recommended by

  • Dave Osmundsen: Hut, Hut, Hike by Kenneth Jones
    “

    A sweet, tender coming-of-age play that gleefully and lovingly subverts the expectations and tropes of nerd/jock romance. Kenneth Jones writes his protagonists with great humanity, bringing into relief how their individual histories have informed their search for higher ideals. The supporting characters and their Machiavellian machinations are also fun to read. While you root for the two leading men to end up together, Jones leaves us with a more complicated, open ending that still satisfies.

    A sweet, tender coming-of-age play that gleefully and lovingly subverts the expectations and tropes of nerd/jock romance. Kenneth Jones writes his protagonists with great humanity, bringing into relief how their individual histories have informed their search for higher ideals. The supporting characters and their Machiavellian machinations are also fun to read. While you root for the two leading men to end up together, Jones leaves us with a more complicated, open ending that still satisfies.

    ”

Character Information

Three men (age 20), one woman (age 20). These are college juniors. Any race.
  • Milo
    MILO DENNIS, a 20-ish male college junior of any race; a theater major; gay; vulnerable; nervous; academic-minded; flinchy; a trauma survivor; charming; too smart; neurotic; attractive but wouldn’t know it; introverted; productive but not aggressively ambitious — doesn’t work the system.

    20
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Mike
    MIKE WOODS, a 20-ish male college junior of any race; a general studies major; a gifted and professionally ambitious football player; BMOC; preferably more physically imposing than Milo, probably; knows how to work system; a sex object and knows it; confident on the field; clueless in classroom; extroverted, with a confidence that hides his secrets — like his low grade point, familial trauma and ambiguous sexuality, which he doesn’t define or obsess over.
    20
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Lexi
    LEXI SUMMERS, a 20-ish female college junior of any race; a marketing, PR, communications/business major; Mike’s future wife and business partner; Mike’s gatekeeper; ambitious and protective of Mike; a rule-setter in their relationship; steely; ruthless; does not suffer fools; eyes on the prize of fame, fortune, success; knows everything about Mike. Kardashian vibes? However — capable of great warmth and feeling. Her love for Mike is real.
    20
    Any
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Sam
    SAM NOBLE, a 20-ish male college junior of any race; a journalism major; queer identity and accessories that are slowly shed; saucy; flexible pronouns; an ally with limits; ambitious; funny; quirky; ruthless.
    20
    Any
    Male or gender non-conforming
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man,
      Non-binary

Development History

  • Reading, Forestburgh Playhouse In the Works in the Woods, 2026

Awards