It is said that, during her first appearance on Broadway there was construction taking place on a building next to the theater. So Kate climbed the scaffolding of the construction site to politely ask the workers if they would be so kind as to cease hammering for three minutes at 4PM each day. This way audience members would be able to hear her quiet solo.

The result became known as a "Kate break" and is reputed to have become a tradition at numerous other construction sites in Manhattan for many years.