Marlboro Resident Chosen for Frank Sinatra Birthday Bash

It isn't often that 21-year old girls show an interest in Frank Sinatra's music, especially enough to compile a CD of cover songs and send them to the .

But Alexa Marino, 21, of Marlboro said she heard about the event a few years ago, and wanted to be apart of it. She sent a CD to the theater, and said they told her they were impressed, but did not choose her.

"This year I sent some music & I received a letter from the Count Basie selection committee a few months ago informing me that I had been selected to perform. I was ecstatic. Now, here I am!," Marino said.

The Frank Sinatra Birthday Bash is an annual event, paying respects to Mickey Blue Eyes. Sinatra would have been 96 this year.

Marino said she has been singing around her house since she was a child, and once she began vocal training, she never looked back.

"I live in a very close knit Italian family. We would play music, like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin etc., and I grew to love it and sing along," Marino said. "I have always associated Sinatra and other artists of that genre with what I call 'Family Music.' To this day, whenever I hear it, I always picture my grandparents dancing, all of us at the dinner table, and a lot of laughter."

Marino graduated Marlboro High School in 2008, and is currently a senior at Drew University. While at MHS, Marino performed in school choirs, in the NJ All Shore High School Choir and the All State NJ Choir.

She also played the Wicked Witch in the 2008 high school musical, and earned a nomination for the Count Basie Theatre High School Performance “Basie Award” for Best Actress.

Marino has traveled the world with the American Music Abroad Choir, and was an extra in "The Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. Marino has also performed in several groups at Drew University.

Even with all of that on her resume, Marino is still nervous about performing at Count Basie.

It gives me chills every time I think about it," she said. "To be a part of something like this is just absolutely incredible. I feel very fortunate to have been given this opportunity, and I am determined to give the best performance I can."

Marino said what she is singing will have to be a surprise, but she is excited to be backed by the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra.

"The songs selected are beautiful and I am singing a few standards that will bring a tear to my parents’ eyes."

Marino sent Patch her rendition of Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon," which unfortunately we could not attach. You'll just have to trust us that it was unbelievably good.

The Frank Sinatra Birthday Bash takes place Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. Ticket information can be found at the Count Basie Theatre website.