WINNIPEG -- Boy meets girl, boy flounders in emotional quagmire, boy gets grip -- and vice versa -- as actors set the stages of romantic love to the music of Saskatchewan's most famous folkie in Joni Mitchell: River, opening tonight at Prairie Theatre Exchange.

PTE artistic director Allen MacInnis created and directs the pet project. In what he calls a theatrical concert, Mitchell's songs are the foundation for a series of vignettes covering relationship phases including Falling in Love, Psych Ward and Wisdom.

And since no love story occurs in a vacuum, there are also segments devoted to Mitchell's world view on war, big business and morality.

"I've been a lifelong fan, since like 14 years old and every new album was like a tablet from Moses," MacInnis says of Mitchell, whom he met briefly last fall when she was among the artists feted at the Harbourfront World Leaders Festival in Toronto.

"I chatted very briefly with her about it ... I was asking her about coming to an arts and education conference that's going on during the show," he says.

"She's in the midst of producing her next album and will be unable to come."

PTE applied for permission to use 32 Mitchell songs, and 28 are in the show, including Big Yellow Taxi, Carey, A Case of You, Shadows and Light, Help Me and Woodstock, with arrangements by guitarist Greg Lowe.

Lowe joins fellow Winnipeg musicians Don Benedictson (bass), Daniel Roy (drums) and Leonard Shaw (keyboards and saxophone) at centre stage -- literally, the band is nestled in an island surrounded by multi-level stage components.

Actor-singers Thom Allison (Side by Side by Sondheim), Andrea Menard (Godspell) and PTE newcomer Corrine Koslo perform songs together and solo, using lyrics rather than dialogue to tell their stories.

Mitchell, 59, was born in Ft. McLeod, Alta., but raised in North Battleford and Saskatoon. Now living in Los Angeles, she was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto last year after winning both Juno and Grammy Awards for her latest album Both Sides Now. Her upcoming CD, Circle Game, is being recorded in London.

MacInnis, 45, says Mitchell has written so many songs about love that it seemed natural to structure River around a relationship theme.

A city boy -- he grew up in Edmonton -- he says he feels connected to the imagery in her songs -- such as River's lyrics, "I wish I had a river I could skate away on" -- but he doesn't view her work from a strictly prairie perspective.

"She's a citizen of the world."

MacInnis says the conference he asked Mitchell to attend is not related to the theatre project. And while he mentioned River when they met in October, he chose not to go into detail about the PTE project.

"Because it's not a biography. It's not like I'm looking for more information about her -- it's what's in her songs."

Performances are at 8 p.m. Wed. - Sat., 7 p.m. Tues., & Sun. Feb. 10, 2 p.m. Sun., and 3 p.m. Sat. Feb. 3.

Tickets cost $18.25 - $30.25 at the PTE box office (942-5483).