After Hanukkah Shooting Overseas, LI Theater Founder Turns Spotlight On Community Giving

ST. JAMES, NY — As Suffolk County officials said police have stepped up patrols around religious institutions following the mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, a local theater founder said the moment is reinforcing why he built his company around community impact, not just applause, even when events are unfolding thousands of miles away.

Tony Chiofalo, 56, a Lake Grove resident and founder and president of Lighthouse Repertory Theatre Company, said he and his wife, Cami Crary, launched Lighthouse with a simple question that had been bothering them since the pandemic.

“How can we use the magic and the power and the transformative nature of the performing arts to make a difference, not just impact people while they’re watching a performance, but do something in the community as well,” Chiofalo said.

Lighthouse is a Long Island-based 501(c)(3) that produces shows in rented venues across the region — “we don’t have a lease or a building that we own,” Chiofalo said — and pairs productions with charity partnerships that help raise money and awareness for local causes.

That approach is also shaping Lighthouse’s plans for 2026. Chiofalo said the company is preparing "Fiddler on the Roof" and "South Pacific", and he expects Fiddler in particular to be paired with a Jewish community organization that supports victims of antisemitism. His thinking, he said, sharpened after the Bondi Beach attack.

Fiddler on the Roof is a classic musical set in a Jewish village in early 20th-century Eastern Europe. The show explores themes of religious identity, tolerance, persecution, and resilience in the face of social upheaval.

“We try to tie in the subject matter, or somehow the show itself, to the charity work that we’re doing,” he said. “Anybody who’s watching and paying attention to what’s going on, you see all these antisemitic activities going on, as well as abroad. “And then the Australia incident was just the icing on the cake. We said we really have to do something, even if it’s just symbolically showing our support.”

In Suffolk, county officials said police are monitoring developments after the attack, and that while there are no threats locally, the department is in constant contact with law enforcement partners and has enhanced stepped-up holiday patrols around religious institutions.

Since its inception in 2024, Lighthouse and its supporters have raised over $50,000 for local nonprofits, including Celebrate St. James, the community group behind efforts to restore the former Calderone Theatre space. Chiofalo’s own path to the stage started as a teenager.

“I was bitten by the theater bug in high school,” he said, after a performing arts program helped pull him in.

He later served nine years in the U.S. Army, then built a private-sector career while keeping theater as “always my love,” performing around Long Island and beyond with credits that include professional work at venues such as the John W. Engeman Theater and Gateway Playhouse, along with performances in Manhattan. He met his wife onstage during a Long Island production of My Fair Lady.

“We met on stage,” he said, and later got married at the Suffolk Theater. “Just to put the icing on the cake.”

But Chiofalo said Lighthouse wasn’t created just to add another company to Long Island’s already busy theater scene. His answer became a mission built around connection.

“You pick up a rock, you throw a stone, you’ll hit a community theater around here,” Chiofalo said. “We really want to do something that helps the world, that doesn’t divide people, but brings people together,” Chiofalo said, describing partnerships with hyperlocal nonprofits as the way to do it.

Over the past year, he said Lighthouse has partnered with groups including Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, Book Fairies, Birthday Wishes — which helps homeless children celebrate birthdays — the Nassau County PAL Special Needs Unit, and others, often selecting causes that can tie, sometimes loosely and sometimes directly, to the themes of a show.

For Chiofalo, the community response to Lighthouse’s mission has become part of the story — and a reason the group has been able to operate with a small core team. Lighthouse has about a dozen volunteers and a small board, he said, and the rest is fueled by people jumping in where needed. He described cast members showing up on nights they weren’t performing to usher, run concessions, and help with raffles because they wanted to support the cause behind the production.

“The mission really brings people in,” he said.

Lighthouse is also building youth programming tied to its Suffolk work. Chiofalo said the company launched a children’s theater workshop at the nonprofit cultural arts organization "Celebrate St. James" with Annie Jr. for grades 3–9, followed by Frozen Jr.

He said two performers from that program are now appearing in Anastasia as young versions of the title character, with multiple children rotating through the role because the production has a large run.

This month, Lighthouse is staging Anastasia — The Musical, running Nov. 28 through Dec. 28, described as a family-friendly Broadway musical inspired by the film, with songs including “Journey to the Past” and “Once Upon a December.” The production is being staged at the Celebrate St. James Center for the Arts, formerly the Calderone Theatre.

Audience members are also being asked to bring a nonperishable food item to support Island Harvest Food Bank, and matinee performances include a meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with the cast afterward.

“It really is about seeing the impact on the charities,” Chiofalo said. “To be able to hand them a check, or to connect them with community members that might need their services — that’s been the most rewarding part.”

Anastasia — The Musical is playing at the Celebrate St. James Center for the Arts, formerly the Calderone Theatre, located at 176 Second Street, St. James, NY 11780. Upcoming performances are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 26, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 27, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 28, at 3 p.m. General admission tickets are $35, with discounted pricing available for seniors and veterans ($30), Celebrate St. James members ($25), and children ages 12 and under ($20).