THEATER REVIEW ‘PATIENCE’ : Milkmaid’s Tale : The 1881 Gilbert & Sullivan operetta pokes fun at the last century’s Aesthetic movement.

Toward the end of the 1800s, a reactionary movement swept the British artistic community. Led by the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Aesthetics dedicated themselves to the pursuit of beauty--they were also called Pre-Raphaelites, in part because at least some of the group believed that art had gone downhill since the day of that Italian Renaissance poet and architect.

Other, more practical-minded Brits found the Aesthetics as amusing as many ‘60s Americans found the hippies (and for many of the same reasons). Aestheticism and its followers are the target of Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1881 operetta “Patience,” playing through Sunday at Moorpark College.

Though he’s idolized by a chorus of 20 “lovesick maidens,” upper-class Aesthetic poet Reginald Bunthorne has eyes only for Patience, the milkmaid who regards him as a poseur unworthy of her affections.

A platoon of Dragoon Guards, crisp military types, can’t understand the longhaired, toga-wearing Aesthetics appeal, and want the lovesick maidens, their former girlfriends, back.

Ask any soldier: This is pretty timeless stuff.

Moorpark College has a history of producing Gilbert & Sullivan, and director Marilyn Anderson--a 15-year faculty member--has helmed at least six more of the duo’s works. Several members of this cast have appeared in at least three other Gilbert & Sullivan operettas.

The current production, in the college’s intimate Forum theater, brings the cast practically into the audience’s lap. From appearances, more of the show’s budget was invested in the luxurious costumes than on the minimal scenery (designed by Sandra Weaver and built by the theater arts class), which effectively and appropriately brings a touch of the Athenian courtyard to Castle Blunthorne.

Sharon Smithbauer is a lovely Patience: pretty, intelligent (though slightly dippy), and blessed with a soprano voice worthy of any Gilbert & Sullivan heroine.

Andrew Krigel and James Kirkland portray nattering Aesthetics Bunthorne and Archibald Grosvenor, and Linda Smith is Jane, the plainest of the Lovesick Maidens, and the most important to the plot.

The Dragoon Guards are headed by Michael Reisig as Col. Calverley (who performs the requisite patter songs with aplomb) and Paul Bartlett as Maj. Murgatroyd. Included in their ranks is the Duke of Dunstable (David Newton), who has joined the military with the aim of becoming “more ordinary.”

Eighteen other singing actors form the ensemble of Dragoon Guards and 10 (the theater’s only so big) Lovesick Maidens, and Dean Mora provides yeoman support on the piano.

While it’s probably not the show that springs to mind when Gilbert & Sullivan’s names come into conversation, “Patience” is probably more pertinent than the likes of “HMS Pinafore” or the “Pirates of Penzance.” For that reason, as much as the quality of production, this show might merit a search of the Moorpark College campus for the small, unmarked theater.

* WHERE AND WHEN

“Patience” can be seen tonight through Sunday at Moorpark College’s Campus Forum Theater, 7075 Campus Road in Moorpark. Show times are 8 p.m. tonight through Saturday, and at 2 and 7 p.m. on Sunday. General admission tickets are $8; $7 for students and staff, and $6 for seniors and children. For reservations or further information, call the campus box office at (805) 378-1438.