Lance Bass Spends Final Hours Before ‘Dancing’ Premiere Paying Homage To Dolly

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Lance Bass at the premiere of ‘9 To 5’ in Los Angeles, Sept. 2008
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Dolly Parton with the movie and theater production casts of ‘9 To 5’

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FIRST PUBLISHED: September 22, 2008 6:36 PM EDT
LAST UPDATED: September 22, 2008 9:36 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Later tonight, Lance Bass will make his debut as a celebrity contender on “Dancing With the Stars.” But this past weekend, the former *NSYNC band member spent time he could have used in the rehearsal studio with partner Lacey Schwimmer, at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles for the premiere of Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5: The Musical.”

“They gave me a night off,” Lance told Access Hollywood. “I think we’re so prepared for Monday that we needed a nice breather for a little bit. It [is] nice to kind of relax your brain a little bit and see someone else perform.”

Lance said Lacey had no qualms about her partner hitting the theater as she had other “DWTS” season premiere preparations to take care of.

“She’s actually in professional rehearsal,” Lance said. “So she doesn’t get the night off.”

The former boy band star said he was drawn to the “9 To 5” premiere thanks to his admiration of Dolly, who penned the songs for the musical.

“I love Dolly,” Lance enthused. “Who doesn’t love Dolly? Growing up in Mississippi, I listened to country music so Dolly was definitely on our radios and musicals are smoothing major to me. I spent a little time on Broadway.”

And Lance wasn’t the only star on the “9 To 5” red carpet sharing his Dolly love. Original “9 To 5” film stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman all attended the premiere as did celebs including Marissa Jaret Winokur, Gabriel Byrne, “Frasier’s” David Hyde Pierce and Peri Gilpin, former “Queer as Folk” star Robert Gant, and “Everybody Loves Raymond” actress Doris Roberts, who brought along Blythe Danner.

Click HERE to read more about the premiere, and what happened when the set broke down in the middle of Act One.

“After this election season we’ve gone through, it’s kind of great to see girl power back — continuing on, rather,” Blythe said of the musical’s theme.

And she too shared her love for Tennessee’s country queen.

“She’s fabulous,” Blythe said of Dolly. “She’s such a great mix of a ballsy chick and a great feminine lady. It’s just wonderful. I’m just happy she’s in our world.”