Frat Rat
Planet Ant Theatre
Hamtramck, Mich.
2320 Caniff Ave.
Showing through June 13, 2026
Planet Ant Theatre’s new play “Frat Rat” has given us another reason to dislike Greek life. The one-act comedy, written by Helen Rose Consiglio III, follows the campaign of three presidential candidates for the co-ed Delta Iota Kappa (“DIK”) fraternity at Fleming University (“FU”). Chad is a Chad, a stereotypical douchey frat boy with MAGA tendencies. Brian makes his Paleo diet his entire personality and wants to sever financial ties with the university to have complete control – plus offer Paleo snacks. Ashley is the only female candidate, with the derogatory nickname of “frat rat,” a term used to describe a woman who is essentially a fraternity groupie. She is the lone endearing character of the show, with goals to make the fraternity more accessible and inclusive. Stakes are high as the fraternity is on the brink of disbandment following decades of hazing violations.
That setup already confused me. While I admit to having limited knowledge of the college Greek system, the only co-ed fraternities I was aware of were professional fraternities – not social ones. If a woman were to crash a male-only space – when a female equivalent existed – I can understand the pushback. But if it’s already an established co-ed situation, why wouldn’t a man just join a traditional male fraternity if having female “brothers” was going to be an issue?
We learn Ashley only pledged DIK because Chad, whom she briefly dated, bashed her name to all the sororities and got her blacklisted – with just being an asshole as his only apparent motive. While Ashley clearly has the best character of the three, she’s not a great option either. She is incredibly insecure, made worse by the bullying of Chad and Brian, and her platform of inclusivity basically goes against the elitism of the entire Greek system. I found myself rooting for her, but only out of a lack of acceptable alternatives.
Ashley eventually finds her confidence to push back against the boys – due to the bite of a random apple. It was great to see her stand up against her misogynistic competitors, but that progression must be earned – not due to a throwaway plot device. And we eventually see her nominate Chad – who has no character development – as her vice president. This happened after he “saved” the fraternity by threatening to release doctored photos of a university official having sex with a dog to prevent him from shutting it down.
We’re already living in an increasingly problematic patriarchal society where selfish, egotistic white men are rewarded for toxic behavior. To see our heroine, who just overcame societal misogyny, contribute to this was a slap in the face.
Tiffany and Brittany, as ditzy sorority girls (or perhaps also members of DIK?), served as a vocal-fried Greek chorus. They narrated the scene as we observed traditional frat events, including the pledging ceremony, a frat party and the Mock Rock lip syncing contest. But the two also squabbled over Tiffany having unsubscribed from the frat newsletter Brittany sent out, which was odd and tedious. Women have been fighting over stupid things since the beginning of time. But cattiness over an unsubscribed newsletter – which could have simply been blocked to avoid conflict – is not a thing.
Shannon Mindlin (playing Ashley) gave a strong performance as the insecure lead who finds her confidence to stand up to the boys. Jeremy Karevich’s Chad was flat, and would benefit from more energy and dynamics, as well as less mumbling.
The production is an interactive experience, which I’ll give it credit for. Two select audience members are invited to join the cast on stage as fraternity pledges throughout the show. The audience members are also the ones to vote on the next chapter president via QR code. There are apparently four possible endings, but all but one seems improbable to me.
“Frat Rat” bills itself as a satire, but I’m not sure what it set out to do. Is it supposed to be a hopeful story about overcoming misogyny, an exposé of the toxic nature of fraternities, an exploration of the extremes people will go to in the pursuit of power, an ode to the benefits of eating an apple? “Frat Rat” would benefit from a clearer sense of purpose and a heroine worth rooting for from start to finish.
