HUGE Improv Making Big Move

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.

HUGE Is Headed North (3 Blocks North, That Is)

If you’re anything like us, you asked the cashier at Art Materials weeks ago why they’re throwing a moving sale. The worker likely then revealed to you, as they did to us, that HUGE Improv Theater is taking over 2728 Lyndale Ave., and that the art supply shop will occupy a smaller footprint inside the property. Well, now it’s official: Today leaders at HUGE announced the theater signed a 10-year lease at that address, which’ll amount to a sizable expansion from their current home a few blocks to the south—4,000 to 6,755 square feet.

“Unfortunately, in the last few years, we’ve seen the closure of a lot of performance spaces in our area—The Theater Garage, Intermedia Arts, ComedySportz—and we don’t want to be part of that culture drain. We love it here, and we want to be a part of keeping the neighborhood artistically alive,” HUGE managing director Sean Dillon says via press release. The final event at HUGE’s HQ for the past 13 years, 3037 Lyndale Ave. S., will be June’s Twin Cities Improv Festival; the move is scheduled to be completed by early September. But first HUGE will need around $750,000 to transform the art store into a performance space, according to the press release. “What we have right now is a tremendous opportunity for someone—a philanthropist or a socially-conscious corporation—to make a transformative impact on an entire art form,“ co-executive director John Gebretatose says.

Owl Is Lost

Ever walk gingerly past some of the more obviously fragile items in the Mia collection—the ornamental bowls, for instance—and think, “One wrong move and I could accidentally destroy an irreplaceable, centuries-old work of art”? Well, as Alicia Eler reports at the Strib, that unthinkable fate befell a visitor to the museum last month. The unidentified person tripped and knocked over a bronze statue, though fortunately the object wasn’t totally destroyed, just damaged. “The piece, a 12th- or 13th-century B.C. bronze owl-shaped wine vessel nicknamed the ‘Pillsbury Owl,’ sat at the entrance to the museum's fantastical exhibition ‘Eternal Offerings: Chinese Ritual Bronzes,’" Eler writes. Needless to say, it does not sit there now.

You might not think this is the sort of story anyone needs to have an opinion about, but the Strib comment section suggests otherwise. Currently there are lively debates over whether the tripper was elderly or a child, whether they were looking at their cell phone, and even whether Mia was negligent in… displaying the art, we guess? “If I was the insurance company I would deny any claim,” commenter Ironwood huffily declared. (Will no one think of the insurance companies?!) Then again, the comments do contain this unexpected wisdom from commenter holmescity49: “One thing about tripping, you don't know where you'll end up. Same is true of falling.” Can’t argue with that.

Live Nation Introduces $25 'All-In' Tickets

Know what would better than paying between $59.50 to $399 for Bruce Springsteen tickets at the Xcel, as the Strib's Jon Bream reported many disgruntled fans did earlier this year? Paying $25 for those tickets, as the Strib's Chris Riemenschneider reports a new Live Nation program will let ya do. From May 10 through May 16, Live Nation is running a Concert Week promotion that offers $25 "all-in" tickets; Janet Jackson, Fall Out Boy, Pink, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Lionel Richie, Wu-Tang Clan, Jason Aldean, Bryan Adams, and Nickelback are all listed as part of the cost-slashing deal. It's not exactly clear which dates or venues will qualify, though, and Riemenschneider notes that the cash-saving tix are probably more likely to be available at big GA venues like Somerset and Treasure Island Casino than they are the Xcel. "Live Nation, which has drawn criticism from Swifties and senators alike recently, can certainly afford the deals—last week the company announced a 73% jump in revenue." You can find more info about the promotion here.

DNR Shoot Injured Bear Roaming North Minneapolis

Bears in the Twin Cities: That’s a thing now. Over the years, local bear sightings have become increasingly common, especially in the south and west metros. But this weekend a young black bear with an injured paw made its way through the North Side, climbing fences and walking through a playground. The bear, estimated to be two to three years old, was first spotted at 8:42 a.m. Sunday, May 5, at North Girard and 14th avenues. A resident even snapped some adorable photos of its adventure before the DNR tracked it down and euthanized it. "The bear was in a heavily populated, residential area with many children, and presented an immediate public safety threat," explains the DNR in a statement for Bring Me the News. "The bear was donated to a family." Tranq darts were not considered an option, as they can take 10-20 minutes to take effect—plenty of time for a bear to run into traffic or maul a human. RIP, big guy.