A puppeteer passing through San Francisco has been reunited with hundreds of Persian shadow puppets that were inside a U-Haul van stolen from Van Ness Avenue Sunday night.

SFist mentioned the theft Monday, and it felt especially tragic given the work invested in the 500 shadow puppets for the show's creator Hamid Rahmanian — and the fact that the thieves would have no use for them. Rahmanian and his crew had just finished a couple of weekend performances at the Fort Mason Center of the show Song of the North, which is based on an ancient Persian poem. They had gone to bed at the Comfort Inn By the Bay on Van Ness Avenue, and they awoke Monday to find that their U-Haul truck was stolen.

The story was covered by the Chronicle and several news outlets, including KTVU, and it was KTVU's coverage that caught the attention of one Richmond resident, who had noticed a U-Haul truck parked on her block since Monday morning.

As KTVU now reports, Rahmanian got a call from San Francisco Police investigators, and he was there across the Bay in Richmond Wednesday afternoon to see what was left inside the truck.

The thieves had apparently rummaged through the truck's contents and caused some damage, but it seems like at least some or most of the shadow puppets were still there.

"It was ravaged through and ripped apart, and I have to sit down somewhere and assess the damage," Rahmanian tells KTVU.

He added, "It's a lot to process. I think it's great, thank you for the community, thank you guys, thank you for the person who saw your reportage and reported to the police. It's amazing."

The SFPD's CSI team dusted the truck for fingerprints, and they said the truck's ignition was apparently punched.

The national tour of Song of the North will now likely continue — and it was supposed to make it to New York City at some point.

Rahmanian tells KTVU, "It seems salvageable. But I'm sure we're gonna miss a few shows."

The next performance was scheduled for Friday at Seattle's Meany Center.

-- Shadow Circus Vaudeville Theatre: (In)famous night of underground "circus arts, burlesque, music, and puppetry" begins at 9 p.m. at Fat City; $10.

-- Rogue Wave: Oakland indie-rock band performs with Port O'Brien at 9 p.m. at Bimbo's; $15.

-- Oslo, A Modern Machine, Desole: LA-based Oslo has got serous buzz right now. Which means the place will get crowded with hungry hungry hipsters, so get there early. Music starts at 8:30 p.m. at Rickshaw Stop; $8.

-- (The Final!) Fag Friday: Well, the final one at the Endup before it heads over to (the fittingly titled) Pink, anyway. Glamamore, Juanita MORE!, and Candi Gurl perform at this dance club's final night in SOMA. Starts at 10 p.m. at the Endup.


Image: Jeff Spirer

Considered to be the largest underground hip-hop event in America, Scribble Jam kicks off at 9pm at Slim's. Come check out freestyle and emcee battles plus scratching, breakdancing, beatboxing and graffiti competitions. $16 gets you in the door. 333 11th St.

The Great Wall of Oakland heads back to downtown Oakland during the First Fridays Art Murmur gallery walk. Head over to Grand Ave, just west of Broadway to check out digital animation by Oakland-based media artist Victor Ingrassia from 8-10pm.

Dark Side of the Uke: Floyd's legenary album reimagined with ukuleles by the Tatamimats - complete with sonic noises, lasers and fog! Tickets are $6, show starts at 9pm the Knockout. 3223 Mission St.

Get your dance on at Pink for OM:Soul, with J Boogie (of Dubtronic Science), DJs Rich Medina and Sake One. 2925 16th St.

Photo from the Dark Side of the Uke flyer.

It's that time of the year again for San Francisco magazine's Best of the Bay party. The annual bash features lots of eats, drinks and chances to win prizes. Be prepared to fork over nearly a bill for your ticket here -- but as an added bonus it will also get you into the afterparty at Slide. San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St.

Come watch contenders for the Air Guitar championship title shred...air at the US Air Guitar Regionals at The Independent . Killer! 628 Divisadero St, SF.

Movie night at John Colins! Tonight's event features the film Thread, a visual story about surfers and esoteric ocean landscapes from around the world. And part of tonight's proceeds goes to Save the Waves, an environmental group dedicated to preserving world-famous surf spots threatened by coastal development. 7-11pm, 90 Natoma Street.

Vaudevillian comedy, burlesque, puppetry, all set to the music of Tom Waits! It's Inside a Broken Clock, a peepshow performed live by The No Salvation Army Band from Austin. Show starts at 9, tickets are $15. Get them in advance - this show tends to sell out. 12 Galaxies, 2565 Mission Street, SF.

What's summer without a Ferris Wheel and funnel cake? Head over to the Alameda County Fair! Pet Look-Alike and Text messaging contests are on the tip of the iceberg. Live music acts are scheduled nightly until the fair ends on July 8th. 4501 Pleasanton Ave, Pleasanton.

Photo from the Alameda County Fair site.

Theater isn't just theater anymore. Throw in some dance, circus, puppetry and even a bit of some horror and comic books, and you've come a long way since, say, Neil Simon.

Women on the Way Festival at Dance Mission
Footloose Presents launches its sixth annual festival featuring new work by badass women, from up-and-coming choreographers to hybrid work to solo performance. You've got several best bets here. In Amanda Moody's solo show , Joan of Arc reincarnates as an agoraphobic, chain-smoking housewife who is haunted by visions emanating from her television set. Moody rocked critics in 2000 with her Serial Murderess, so we're looking forward to her latest stage treat. In 6 Hours by Fresh Meat Productions, choreographer and performer Sean Dorsey (with Mair Culbreth) tells the tale of coming out and living as a transgender through dance, theater, storytelling and original music. We're also going to check out Eat Cake in the Bathroom by Eat Cake Productions, a company that's a mix of oddball (in the best sense) artists whose backgrounds range from aerial dance to physical theater to clowning and puppetry. In this hybrid show, a women is on a quest for a formula to solve creative blocks, and apparently naps in bathtubs, ballerinas with flippers and high-flying sopranos are all viable elements in the equation. You may also want to check out Chinese Clown Cabaret, a quirky piece with clowning and musical acts combining opera, Chinese folk songs and ditties performed by a daughter and mother team, Jane Chen and Tair Chen. This piece is a "Best of the SF Fringe," and you'll either love its blatant cuteness that's also paradoxically smart, or you'll find it too sweet. We found it refreshingly original. Other companies on the Women on the Way bill include Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement, Talismanic Physical Theatre, danceNaganuma, Funsch Dance Experience and Davalos Dance Company. The program changes for each performance, so check out the schedule.
Playing January 12 to 29.

Photo of Eat Cake Productions by David Wilson.