On June 12, 1956, Hecht joined the Screen Producers Guild as their 150th member. That year he also returned to Broadway to bring English playwright Terence Rattigan's hit show "Separate Tables" to the American stage, with plans to turn it into a film for Hecht-Lancaster Productions. The Broadway production opened on October 25, 1956 and was highly successful, running for 332 performances at the Music Box theatre and closing on September 28, 1957. The play was directed by Peter Glenville and starred Margaret Leighton, Eric Portman, Donald Harron, Beryl Measor, Phyllis Neilson-Terry, Helena Carroll and May Hallatt. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards at the 11th ceremony in April 1957, winning one for Margaret Leighton as Best Actress. The other nominations included Best Play (The Producers Theatre and Hecht-Lancaster Productions), Best Actor (Eric Portman), Best Featured Actor (William Podmore), two for Best Featured Actress (Beryl Measor and Phyllis Neilson-Terry) and Best Direction (Peter Glenville).