Preston Max Allen

Preston Max Allen is an American playwright, whose work includes the musical We Are the Tigers and the play, Caroline, both of which premiered Off-Broadway.

Early life

Allen was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and began writing screenplays and learning guitar at age 10. In high school, he was cast as Ilona in She Loves Me, for which he was nominated for the Betty Buckley Award, a precursor to the Jimmy Awards. After, he decided to apply to Columbia College Chicago for musical theatre, was accepted and moved to Chicago, Illinois, with his mother hailing from the area.

Career

When Allen was 24, he realized he was transgender, while also pursuing more writing over performance. His first musical, We Are the Tigers, received a staged reading in 2013, just days before graduating college. The pop musical tells the story of a cheerleader sleepover gone awry when invaded by a serial killer. It began as a staged reading, before debuting in concert-form at Joe's Pub in New York City and being staged at Hudson Backstage Theatre in Los Angeles in 2015, for which he won an Ovation Award. The production would later premiere Off-Broadway at Theatre 80 on February 21, 2019, directed by Michael Bello, and run through April 17 of the same year.

Later in 2019, his punk rock musical, Agent 355, premiered at Chautauqua Theater Company's New Play Workshop. It tells the story of American Revolutionary War-era espionage through the lens of a straightforward concert.

In 2021, he was commissioned by Village Theatre in Seattle, Washington to write the book, music and lyrics to Krisis Kids Wilderness Adventure Camp, which premiered the next year in 2022. The musical followed a sleepaway camp dedicated to preparing children for environmental disasters, and ran from November 4–20, 2022. In 2021, he also wrote the musical Amy Adams Wins An Oscar, which premiered at 54 Below on September 21, 2021.

In 2023, he was named to Manhattan Theatre Club's Sloan Initiative, which exists to commission, develop and produce "new plays about math, science, and technology." His play, Nuclear, depicted a transgender man entering a co-parenting relationship with his late wife's best friend.

His next work, a folk-punk musical titled Never Better, was staged in 2025 at the Theo Ubique Cabaret Theater in Chicago, Illinois. He described the play as based on themes of "isolation, capitalistic collapse and illness," following the story of a woman who continually dismisses her chronic illness as a cold. The show ran from September 7 to October 13, 2024, and received generally positive reviews, with The Chicago Tribune lauding it as "authentic and moving," through noted some narratives were less fleshed out.

His work returned Off-Broadway in 2025, with the world premiere of his play, Caroline at MCC Theatre. Telling the story of a mother forced to reconcile with her own mother for care of her transgender daughter, the production starred Chloë Grace Moretz, Amy Landecker and River Lipe-Smith. For his work, Allen was nominated for the 2026 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award, along with nominations for a Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award and Dorian Award.

Later that year, his musical, The Rage: Carrie 2, An Unauthorized Musical Parody premiered at 54 Below for a one-time performance starring Ari Afsar amid an ensemble cast.

Personal life

Allen is transgender, transitioning to male at the age of 24. He uses he/him pronouns.

Works

Awards and nominations