‘Big River’ will tour instead of switching venues

The Broadway revival of “Big River,” which originated in Los Angeles, will not transfer to a strictly commercial engagement in another Broadway theater, as its producers had hoped.

The sign language-permeated version of the Huckleberry Finn musical is currently at the American Airlines Theatre as part of the Roundabout Theatre’s nonprofit subscription season. Reviews were favorable, but box office receipts haven’t been promising enough to warrant a costly move to another theater.

The production will extend at its current theater for one more week, with a new closing date of Sept. 21, and will then prepare for a national tour, slated to begin in Dallas next summer, said Ed Waterstreet, artistic director of the small North Hollywood-based Deaf West Theatre, which originated the show. The production played at L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum last year before tackling Broadway this summer.

“Deaf West has long been committed to bringing this new art form to as many people in as many places as possible, and we are delighted to now be afforded the opportunity to present this ‘sign-language musical’ to these new audiences,” Waterstreet said in an e-mailed statement.