9 to 5

On May 29, 2026, at Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gay Men's Chorus of Tampa Bay punched the clock for "9 to 5" as the tenth number of their concert "Love in Technicolor." Sung by the full chorus in Chad Weirick's arrangement, the song is Dolly Parton's irrepressible theme to the 1980 film comedy, a tune Parton famously wrote between takes on set, clicking her acrylic nails for the percussion that opens the original recording.

Weirick's chart leans hard into that working-day swagger, translating Parton's honky-tonk piano and clattering rhythm into stacked male voices. The arrangement thrives on a propulsive, syncopated groove, building from a wry verse into a full-throated, harmonized hook that lets the chorus pile up close, country-flavored chords behind the famous title line.

The performance crackled with personality. Sectional balance stayed crisp through the patter of the verses, with the basses anchoring the shuffle while the upper voices snapped the consonants of "tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen" into bright, unison clarity. Diction was the star here, every wry lyric landing, and the dynamic shaping swelled smartly into each chorus before pulling back for a knowing wink.

Allendale's generous, resonant nave gave the harmonized refrains a warm bloom without smearing the rhythmic bite, letting the blend ring while the punchy accents stayed clean. The audience clearly knew the song; hands kept time, and the final cadence drew an immediate, delighted roar from the pews.

Within "Let's Go to the Movies!," "9 to 5" is pure cinematic joy, a blue-collar anthem of solidarity that fits the chorus like a tailored shirt. There is something fitting in a chorus built on chosen family singing a song about people who deserve a better deal, turning a movie hit into a shared, hand-clapping celebration of community and visibility.