Following college, Cale originated the role of Suzanne in the Steppenwolf Theatre production of Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" in Chicago and came to Los Angeles with the production in 1995, where Candice Bergen spotted Cale and offered her the recurring role of McGovern, a reporter in "Murphy Brown". Soon after, Cale was simultaneously appearing in two comedy series on different networks: as a sassy waitress in "Local Heroes" and as the neurotic wife of Christopher Gartin in "Buddies".