It is dangerous business to pile Pelion on Ossa in the field of critical praise, but it is a risk which must be taken in any appraisal of the Veterans Theater Workshop's production of "Saint Joan." Last night's performance involved some of the finest acting and most superb staging over seen on the Sanders stage, and very probably anywhere in the vicinity of Harvard Square. Faced with enormous problems at every turn of one of Shaw's most ambitious scripts, the company created a masterpiece which carried the audience away and must have astounded even its most ardent backers.

At the top of the list of praises must come a word for John Holabird, whose transformation of the evils of Sanders Theater into good should set a target for succeeding generations to aim at from a distance. The use of the memorial Hall transept for the Reims coronation scene was a master stroke of a designer's imagination: with the audience seated in the long hall it became a cathedral even to the acoustics. And that was not the limit of Holabird's invention. His division of the stage into three separate units for the opening scenes would alone have made the staging an unusual achievement.

Donna Holabird shared her husband's triumph. She brought to the role of Joan an overpowering sincerity which combined with her technique, perfect appearance, and natural charm to bring her probably as close as anyone has ever come to Shaw's concept of the untutored but common-sense country girl thrust by her God into history. The play was more than a personal achievement, however, for the VTW had assembled a supporting cast with an unusual number of almost inspired actors. Under the expert direction of Jerry Kilty and Georgina Johnston, the difficulties of the play were overcome by the entire cast.

Two of the clerical roles in particular were performed with something more than even extraordinary skill. Charles Sedgwick as the Archbishop of Reins and Thayer David as the Inquisitor went beyond the realms of skill in the two roles which more than any other express the religious-philosophical outlook of Shaw in the play. Mendy Weisgal was perfect as the pathetic Dauphin, from his neglected yellow robes to the fifteenth century hair style he had summoned for the occasion. H. M. Temple set the pace for the rest of the cast with a superbly stylish performance as de Baudricourt in the opening scene, and William A. West and Joe Everingham deserve mention for their smooth renditions of the parts of Warwick and Dunois.

An inevitable comparison arises between "Saint Joan" and the Dramatic Club's recent success. What puts last night's production out ahead essentially is the play--the challenge it posed to the Theater Workshop and the way that challenge was met. The Odets was done exceedingly well, but even at its best it offered nowhere near the range of expression in either acting or staging that belongs to Shaw's creation. From every conceivable standpoint "Saint Joan" is a high-water mark in Harvard dramatics. If you let it slip by without seeing it, you are depriving yourself of a rare opportunity to see a great play professionally and imaginatively performed.