A broken-hearted tale, played for laughs

This January, the 24-year-old was diagnosed with the sudden onset of a serious heart condition. The doctors said the Guam-born Illarmo had lost a long bout to an unknown virus. A few days later he was on his back in a Beth Israel Deaconess operating room, turning his head away as a surgeon moved around the musculature on the left side of his chest. The procedure made room for an iPod-sized device that serves as pacemaker/defibrillator to monitor his heart and deliver an intense shock in case of cardiac arrest.

''I have had many painful experiences, broken bones, I fell off a roof, I even suffered a concussion occurring on this very stage, and none of those things hurt as much as Dr. Z rearranging my insides to slap in a pair of AA's [batteries]."

When Illarmo walked out of the hospital Jan. 11, he was a different person. ''I felt like an 85-year-old-woman, trapped in the body of a sexy 24-year-old man," he joked.

Shortly after returning home to his Allston apartment, the Boston University alum saw the humor in his hospital stay and started working on a one-man show about it. ''Broken Heart: Not a Love Story," premiered at ImprovBoston in June, and a leaner version returns on Wednesday nights this month.

''It's a powerful show," said director, collaborator, and friend Greg Reimann. ''It takes the audience to the edge, making them feel bad for the poor guy, and brings them right back."

''In the case of a life-threatening arrhythmic episode, the device will zap you and save your life. It's like having a personal EMT with you 24 hours a day."''Will it shout 'clear,' like an EMT?"

The show opens with Illarmo, who looks like fellow comedian Gilbert Gottfried might if the nasally voiced comedian had been born in Guam, napping in a chair, waking up, and telling his story.

Illarmo came down with a cold he couldn't kick last December. It turned into a cough and he kept working -- putting in 70-hour weeks: telemarketing during the day and waiting tables at night.

The cough turned into a bad hack that couldn't be overcome with antibiotics. By Jan. 6 he was feeling bad enough to return to his primary care physician's office.

The doctor took a chest X-ray, excused himself, and called New England Baptist Hospital -- Illarmo's enlarged heart was showing up on the chest X-ray. Not a good sign. Illarmo hopped in a cab and headed to the hospital. While there a tactless technician told him, ''I bet if you ran down the hallway, you'd have a heart attack."

Without skipping a beat, Illarmo said, ''Do you want to give me odds?"

In addition to his quick wit, Illarmo has a reputation of being inexhaustible.

''Marcelo's one of those people who is never out of energy. Ever," said David Mogolov, a friend and collaborator. ''Even while he was most sick he was planning events for his friends."

Early on, Illarmo was told he might need a heart transplant.

"Hey, babe. I look pretty hot, huh? I know. I'm glad you came. Oh, baby, I'm so scared. I mean they don't know what happened or why or if I'll get better. It's all just so. Yeah. Yeah. We'll be swing dancing in two months. Right. Ryles. No. Just hold my hand, OK. Thank you for coming."

Over the past few months, his heart has improved marginally and he's no longer in transplant territory. He doesn't have to rest all day any more, but the shows take a lot out of him, and it takes him a full two days to recover.

Illarmo doesn't dwell on the bad, though.

''One of the great ironies of this heart condition is that I may actually live longer. I don't drink, I don't eat unhealthily, I don't stay out late. . . . There are worse things that can happen to you than being forced to live a healthy lifestyle."

''The next morning I was visited by a cheery cardiac technician. He took an echocardiogram and we started chatting.''He said, 'Hey buddy.'''I said, 'What, dude.'''He said, 'You're lucky. You're a lucky guy.''' 'Really, why am I so lucky?' "''He said, 'You're lucky you're so young, because if you were older, you'd be dead.''' 'Sweet, I'm glad I'm lucky to be young and sick instead of old and dead. Rock on.' "

''Tales of Broken Heart: Not A Love Story" is part of Hump Night at ImprovBoston at 1253 Cambridge St. in Cambridge Wednesday nights through the end of the month. For more information go to www.notalovestory.com.