LIFE WITH LUCIE AND ARTHUR

One message in the play “Social Security,” touring nationally with Lucie Arnaz, is to be kind to the elderly. But. . . .

First, some background:

Arthur Tracy, 84, in his younger days a concert attraction (the famous “Street Singer”) whose signature song was “Marta,” hadn’t been on stage in 35 years when director Mike Nichols cast him as the nonsinging but vibrant 98-year-old artist in the play.

During a party at the end of the tour Sunday in San Francisco, he sang for cast and crew. According to Tracy, Arnaz was talking and he asked for “a little respect.” She stood up, he related, loudly remarked “They didn’t come here to hear you sing--they came here to drink,” and stalked off.

According to Arnaz, “I got up and (whispered) into his ear, ‘They didn’t pay to hear you sing--they just came in to have a drink.’ ” She confirmed that “we had been begging him to sing the whole tour. He was specifically asked to sing ‘Marta.’ ” Instead, “He was about four songs in and . . . it was more than we bargained for.” When other bar patrons walked past Tracy, she said, “He was screaming into the mike, ‘Shut up! Have you no respect for a performer?’ ”

Another scene took place onstage at the Ahmanson May 31. Following the matinee, Tracy was presented with a plaque honoring his role as spokesman for a national hospice organization and also for his longevity in showbiz. As witnesses related, Tracy, visibly moved, was in the middle of his thank-you speech when Arnaz executed a half-pratfall, as if fainting from boredom, and yelled out, “Get the hook.’ ”

According to Arnaz, once again, Tracy took too long: “I didn’t do a half-pratfall. I did a full-out pratfall. I dropped dead. I shouted, ‘Get the hook!’ ”

She explained, “I thought it was sort of odd that we would have a plaque ceremony after the show because the audience would have to sit through it, but I was assured that it would only take five minutes.” Instead, “Arthur thanked everyone very eloquently, as he always does, and then he went on and on and on and on and on, and people started to giggle.”

After her pratfall, she said, “The audience burst out laughing. It was like, ‘Thank you, somebody, for getting us off the hook.’ ”

However, according to one onlooker, “Maybe he spoke a little too long, but he’s got a lot to be proud of. It was his moment of glory and she was making faces and gestures. . . . Arthur felt terrible.”

Tracy declined to elaborate further.