Dancing Mothers (play)

Dancing Mothers is a 1924 play by Edgar Selwyn and Edmund Goulding. It is a four-act satire, with three settings, and a large cast. The action of the play takes place over three weeks time. The story concerns a forty-year-old woman whose philandering husband and wild daughter take her for granted, prompting her to break loose herself. The plot was considered conventional up to the ending, which was surprising for putting individual happiness over familial obligations.

The play was produced and staged by Edgar Selwyn, with sets designed by Clifford Pember. It starred Mary Young, Helen Hayes, John Halliday, and Henry Stephenson. It had two tryouts in the spring of 1924, then premiered in Manhattan during August of that year. It ran the entire season on Broadway, ending in May 1925 after over 300 performances. Critic Burns Mantle included Dancing Mothers in his compendium of the Best Plays for 1924.

Dancing Mothers was adapted for a 1926 silent film of the same name.