Would you believe that Wendell Young, former police officer and now diversity manager for the city of Cincinnati, can croon like Billy Eckstine?

Young will be belting out such songs as "More Tender'' when he plays the part of Eckstine June 26-27 in a play titled 100 Years of Divas in American Music at Sonny's Place.

The play will be 7 p.m. June 26 and 5 p.m. June 27 at the Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive.

It is co-sponsored by the Cincinnati Chapter of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and Broadway Bound Productions.

Cast members of the play 100 Years of Divas in American Music at Sonny's Place rehearse at Wendell Young's Avondale home. They are (from left) Darrell Brown as Cab Calloway, Young as Billy Eckstine and Fred Taylor as Nat King Cole. The Enquirer/MELISSA HEATHERLY

"I don't think I sound anything like Billy Eckstine, maybe more like Arthur Prysock. At least that is what I sound like in the shower,'' Young said.

Proceeds from the play will fund programs sponsored by the black public administrators organization.

The play, written by Vincent Kee, owner of Broadway Bound Productions, is about a fictitious place called Sonny's in a Louisiana bayou setting in the 1950s. The plot is that many of the top artists of that period performed at Sonny's, singing songs he wrote.

Sonny is killed by a jealous wife before any of his songs get published. In Kee's play, Sonny returns as a ghost to tell his story and sing his songs. "It is a tribute to legendary music icons and highlights the music and style of the 1950s,'' Kee said.

The cast also includes singer Lavenia Campbell as Ma Rainey; Rachel Woods as Ella Fitzgerald; Diana Dukes as Billie Holiday; Amy Seibert as Marilyn Monroe; Nicholas Brown as Jelly Roll Morton; Fred Taylor as Nat King Cole and Ron Williams as Sonny.

Concert for youth ministry

Jessica Lynne Moon will try to use her talents as a singer to minister to the youths in Evanston. Moon will give a concert at 4 p.m. today at Calvary United Methodist Church, 3215 Woodburn Ave., Evanston.

"This could be a way of reaching the youth and involving them in positive activities,'' said Moon. "I want to empower the young people because I represent the new generation coming in."

Moon is a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and has been studying music at Florida A&M University. In 1994, she traveled to London and Paris with the Walnut Hills Senior choir.

"This concert will also help the church establish its presence in Evanston,'' said Arthur Herndon, a member of the concert planning committee. "We want to reach out and work with other resources in the community.''

GE workers aid orphanage

General Electric employees who entered into a year-long volunteer project with St. Joseph Orphanage's Altercrest Campus in Anderson Township are preparing for their second project.

It is a Golf Classic at the Oasis Golf Course, Loveland, July 13.

The employees partnered with St. Joseph June 3 from noon to 3:30 p.m. in a cleanup project on the grounds of the campus.

Faith Matters

FLORENCE - The first Orthodox Christian Church in Northern Kentucky offers services at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. today in its second week of operation.

The Archangels Orthodox Mission, a mission church from Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, has a prayer service at 9 a.m. and a liturgy service at 10 a.m. in an office suite at 1624-A Burlington Pike, Florence.

"We expect to start out small," said Charles Tucker, also known by his Orthodox title, Father Deacon Gemogen. Tucker, who converted to Orthodox Christianity 25 years ago, is attending seminary and is serving as the new church's deacon.

"We've had four, five, six people express an interest so far, but once the word gets out in the Orthodox community, we hope to see more coming," he said.

Tucker said services are all in English.

"I think we'll attract people of all ethnicities, and some American converts," he said. "We find so many people - especially people in churches with publicized problems - are looking for that traditional Christianity. And that's what Orthodoxy is."

For information about the church mission in Northern Kentucky, call Tucker at (859) 525-2344 or (859) 466-3117.