The worlds inside Meow Wolf Grapevine are shifting again, and this time it’s to make way for the new immersive show coming this holiday season called Phenomenomaly.
It’s about the migration of an interdimensional bioluminescent creature known as the flickerwerm. They migrate in herds and travel through dimensions. During their migration, the flickerwerms hear about Meow Wolf Grapevine and decide to check it out.
“The flickerwerms are attending the Meow Wolf exhibit the way other guests do,” said Kent Caldwell, creative director at Meow Wolf Omega Mart and show director on Phenomenomaly in Grapevine. “And they’re bringing guests along the journey with them.”
A mixture of phenomena and anomalies, the creators of Phenomenomaly were inspired by natural events that get groups of people together to witness something extraordinary.
“We thought about natural events like total solar eclipses, mass migrations of butterflies, or super blooms of wildflowers in the desert,” Caldwell said. “And so you have fans of these events from all walks of life, and for a moment, they really have that shared experience of enjoying these incredible natural phenomena.”
Caldwell and his team asked themselves what their own version of a natural phenomenon would look like in the Meow Wolf multiverse. The process of creating the show began a year ago, and it has already debuted at Meow Wolf’s Las Vegas and Denver locations.
“The show brought a lot of energy and life into the exhibition, and it gave people a sort of different way to play and engage,” Caldwell said.
During the Grapevine shows, a cast of 11 local performers who are professional dancers and clowns will be playing the characters of the flickerwerms; the Lil’ Bigg Miss Fitts, who are flickerwerm enthusiasts who need help creating the perfect migration conditions; and the keepers, who are the guardians of the portals.
“This show is really the first time we’ve brought this level of interactive and immersive performance to the exhibition,” Caldwell said.
Actors will be performing in masks made by an artist called DiCapriria and Monsters of the Underworld.
Guests can expect to see the Phenomenomaly show throughout the day at Meow Wolf Grapevine and can interact with the characters — and even dance with them.
Each weekend, Meow Wolf will host a special performance by a local act. These acts include Battle Grounds; presents Corazon Valiente Ballet Folklorico, presented by Prism Movement Theater; Texas Dragon/Lion Dance Team; Fort Worth Opera; LCBE Project Dancin’ Divas; House of Garcon-Gulf Coast Chapter; Zaara Belly Dance; and Desi Voice & Fancy Feather Dancer, presented by Prism Movement Theater.
Phenomenomaly will run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m. through Jan. 4 at Meow Wolf Grapevine The Real Unreal.
The Go See DFW calendar is a partnership between KERA and The Dallas Morning News.
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