Conceived as a direct response to the 2008 ban on gay marriage in California, “Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays” obviously has — to borrow a phrase from the show — a “gay agenda,” but only at its weakest moments does it feel naggingly political. Mostly, it’s just good theater — funny, touching and very human.

The program, a collection of nine one-act plays by such noted playwrights as Neil LaBute, Moisés Kaufman and Doug Wright, is now running at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center on select Mondays through June, with a rotating cast of celebrities reading the parts. Most remarkable is that each play, from the satirical opener to the rousing finale, stands on its own as a compelling piece of theater.

Past celebrity performers have been widely praised for their contributions to the show, and Monday night’s performance didn’t disappoint. Paul Rudnick’s “The Gay Agenda” — about a woman who thinks sassy gays are out to get her — and Kaufman’s “London Mosquitoes” — a man mourning the death of his partner of 46 years — shined most brightly, thanks to sensational, nuanced readings by Julie Hagerty (“Airplane!,” “She’s the Man”) and John Glover (“Smallville”).

Rachael Harris (“The Hangover”) scored big laughs as a lesbian with pre-marital cold feet in Wendy MacLeod’s “This Flight Tonight” (also featuring an excellent Jane Kaczmarek) and again as the still-faithful wife of a disgraced priest (Glover) in Joe Keenan’s “This Marriage is Saved.” Only Paul McCrane stumbled at the performance, his verbal flubs in some of the program’s finest pieces proof that these works demand considerable talent to carry off.

Some of the playwrights could have done without the easy shots at such familiar targets as Fox News and ultra-religious southerners, and a few more lesbian characters would have given the talented actresses on the stage more to do, but these are small complaints with an otherwise splendid show — one of those special instances of personal setback giving way to artistic triumph.