LORENZO THIONE (Book) is proud and excited of the World Premiere of Allegiance at the Old Globe, on which he began working in 2008 alongside friend and composer Jay Kuo following an encounter with George Takei, whose experience in the internment camps inspired them to write a musical about this dark and mostly unknown chapter of American history.  

Lorenzo is also a serial entrepreneur, theater producer and community activist, and was the co-founder of Powerset, Inc., an internet search company acquired by Microsoft in 2008 and whose technology was subsequently relaunched as part of Bing. He is the co-founder, Chairman and President of Artify It, an internet-based startup that’s bringing high-quality contemporary art within the reach of everyone through subscription-based art rentals.  Thione has also co-founded and helped grow StartOut, a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders within the LGBT community.  Thione serves on the board of trustees of StartOut and of several companies in the U.S. and abroad.  A native of Milan, Italy, Thione is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. A special thanks to family, friends, and everyone who’s been supportive of this amazing and important project and especially to Jay, for an amazing artistic, creative and business partnership and friendship.