I had had a few decades to prepare for this interview with Wonder Woman. When I finally got the chance, the one superpower I possess kicked in--my ability to melt when the dew point hits 60. The closet thing I resembled to a superhero was Frosty the Snowman, in warm weather, two eyes made out of coal swimming in a pool of water.  

I had just gotten off a delayed flight at J.F.K. Sitting at the bar waiting for Ms. Carter, wearing the same clothes I had been in for the past 28 hours, during which time I had not slept because the guy sitting next to me on the plane spent the flight jabbing me with his elbow while playing video games on an iPad, I could not be trusted to hold a door for her, much less coherently discuss her days as Wonder Woman on television, her singing gig at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room or her new recording, Crazy Little Things. Where was the bartender with that soda water I ordered?

Before he could deliver it, Ms. Carter appeared in the doorway of the restaurant, silhouetted by the noon sun streaming in from Eighth Avenue, outlined like a four-color drawing in a comic book but in 3-D.

It is fair to say that Ms. Carter, at age 59, looks as naturally stunning as she did on TV in the 1970s. Clad in a short black leather jacket over a powder-blue scooped-neck dress tailored to the knee, and wearing heels that added to her 5-foot-10-inch height, she looked as long-limbed as ever, her eyes as blue and her hair as brown-black, ready to break into the famous twirl that turned Diana Prince into Wonder Woman. Ms. Carter invented that spinning-top move when the producers of her TV show couldn't figure out how she could make the transition from secretary to superhero.

As my 11-year-old self was giving the present-day me a high five for being on the precipice of having lunch with Wonder Woman, the maitre d' led us to a corner table. Seated next to Ms. Carter, I promptly resumed sweating. It was right after the waiter delivered a cold bottle of mineral water that she told me I looked hot. Before I even had to restrain myself from saying "not compared to you," Ms. Carter shut me up by picking up the cold green bottle and applying it to the back of my neck.

"This is an old trick from movie sets," she explained in her slight Arizona accent. "There are a lot of hot lights when you're on set, and this is something that will cool you right off. Now go ahead, ask me anything," she offered, holding the bottle of mineral water firmly in place.

Her graciousness was completely disarming. After I got over my initial reaction, which was that Wonder Woman was about to break a bottle over my head, or at least pour its contents over me, all thoughts of asking her tough questions disappeared. Just like the Wonder Woman theme song says she can do, she had made a hawk a dove, although "hawk" in this case is stretching it.  

I knew at that moment that I would not be asking her about her husband's trouble with the law during the BCCI banking scandal in late 1980s Washington (he was fully acquitted in 1992), nor about her struggle with alcohol (People magazine reported she stopped drinking in 2008, adding that in admitting her problem, the former Wonder Woman had "turned the 'Lasso of Truth' on herself").

I knew I would not ask Ms. Carter about those things even though banking scandals and drinking too much are subjects of great, even inordinate interest to New Yorkers, and even though her unexpected carefree quality made me wish I'd met her when she was on the sauce. 

As long as she held the bottle on my neck, I had trouble asking her anything, even what it was like to sing "The Rubberband Man" to Kermit the Frog on The Muppet Show in 1980. I wish I had asked that, because when I went to see her perform at the Allen Room last Friday night, I found out Ms. Carter opens her show with that song, and that she and her six-piece band and her three backup singers hold their own against the original version by the Spinners.

I also had a question about her 1977 appearance on Battle of the Network Stars. It is for the best I did not ask that one, either, because it probably would have made her as uncomfortable as watching Howard Cosell drool over her in a bathing suit made me when I saw that show with my mother and my sister in the house I grew up in. Our living room was not a great setting in which to have what turned out to be formative thoughts about the opposite sex. Ms. Carter's 10-year spell as the spokesmodel for Maybelline Moisture Whip cosmetics was another subject I did not broach, even though back then I was transfixed by the way she said the word "moisture" in those TV commercials.   

Eventually, I was able to ask Ms. Carter the kind of questions she has been asked a million times by every shmo she has ever had to meet. We talked about Wonder Woman. I nerdishly pointed out that hers is the only definitive performance as a superhero by any actor. While several actors come to mind if you mention Batman or Superman, I continued, digging myself in deeper, there is only one Wonder Woman, and she is it. 

She admitted that no one had ever put it to her quite that way before, and took the opportunity to bring up Adrianne Palicki, the actress chosen to play Wonder Woman in David E. Kelley's new series, and to wish her well. I scoffed at Ms. Palicki's rubber tights and upside-down tiara headband. Ms. Carter suggested that different times demand different costumes, but that "the message of Wonder Woman is eternal."

"I see Wonder Woman in every woman," Ms. Carter told me. "I saw her in my grandmother, who was 4-foot-11 but was a force to be reckoned with. I thought I had a big responsibility when I created the character, this character that came out of a time in the 1940s when women all of a sudden got to be more independent and do things on their own. My feeling about it is that the first Wonder Woman is not going away. I'm not in danger of losing my place in history. I'm glad it's being redone for a new generation. It'll be great."

Ms. Carter's place in pop culture history is assured in more ways than one. Diana Prince-style eyewear adorns the faces of hipster girls and their avatars in American Apparel ads. Digital technology and YouTube have allowed her fans to re-edit Wonder Woman segments like the artist Dara Birnbaum did in 1978 in her groundbreaking video, Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman, but to less high-minded ends. Ms. Birnbaum's video is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and was featured last November in an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London, where the British arts publisher Afterall released a whole book about it, featuring color plates of Ms. Carter as Diana Prince transforming into Wonder Woman. Fan videos with titles like "Lynda Carter Looking Great in Blouses and Dresses" will never make it in the art world, but do testify to Ms. Carter's enduring appeal.  

Her show Friday night at Jazz at Lincoln Center was spirited and not nostalgic. She only mentioned Wonder Woman once, to get it out of the way. Through the massive window of the Allen Room, I could see the CNN clock behind Ms. Carter while she sang songs by Al Green and the Eagles and night fell over Central Park. Onstage Ms. Carter, all in black, wore a thick black belt that emphasized her slimness the same way her Wonder Woman costume did. The numbers changed on the clock, but she seemed eternal, like the character she played when I was young.

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“I cannot wait to see Michelle Obama!” said the fit morning-talk-show host Kelly Ripa, adding that she was wearing fake eyelashes for the occasion. “I love her whole physicality—she’s so tall and statuesque and good-looking!”

Ms. Ripa was wearing a strapless navy Alberta Ferretti gown with a taut bodice. “I chose it because—I know this will sound silly—but I thought it made me look busty!” she said. Asked whether her bare arms were a sartorial tribute to the first lady, Ms. Ripa giggled. “Let me tell you about the arms,” she said. “It’s springtime, but it’s very cold tonight and it’s very hard finding anything with a sleeve. Trust me!”

The actress Lindsay Price arrived in a mermaid-style dress designed by Carolina Herrera, an honorary co-chair of the evening along with Ms. Obama, Caroline Kennedy, socialite Blaine Trump and actress Renée Zellweger.

“I’m over the moon!” Ms. Price said about the sheer possibility of being near the first lady. “I think I’ll be too shy to go out of my way to meet her, but I’m happy to just be in her company.”

Behind her, be-furred Vogue editor Anna Wintour, arms crossed and sunglasses in place, was being escorted inside. Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins was close behind. “I’m very excited. Not only do we have ballet tonight, but we have politics, too,” said Ms. Collins, whose upper arms were also exposed.

Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa arrived with model Dree Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest, on one arm and socialite Amanda Brooks on the other, each outfitted in one of his minimalist dresses. Is he hoping to woo Ms. Obama?

“Why do you think I’m here? I bought a tuxedo for this!” Mr. Costa said. “She’s proven she has a great sensibility. She’s figuring her own way out and doing an amazing job.”

Actress Mariska Hargitay proclaimed herself above all this fashion flim-flam. “I’m not obsessed with what she wears, I’m obsessed with Michelle Obama,” she said firmly before ducking inside. 

Meanwhile, Lynda Carter, the original Wonder Woman, recalled the year she attended the ballet in the company of another first lady: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

“She was so chic,” Ms. Carter said. “I am excited to meet Michelle Obama. She’s just killer. And tall!”

As guests took their seats, Senator Chuck Schumer welcomed Caroline Kennedy to the stage. Ms. Kennedy in turn welcomed the much-awaited first lady, who (having snuck in through an underground entrance) appeared from behind the gold curtain in a sparkly black Azzedine Alaïa cocktail dress. A standing ovation ensued. (Real estate developer Janna Bullock even put her BlackBerry away for a moment to clap.)

After a few gracious words about the importance of “learning through the arts,” Ms. Obama headed to a private box containing Jill Biden, Ms. Kennedy and the White House social secretary, Desirée Rogers.

During the intermission, the VIPs thronged a roped-off reception area. Ripa chatted with Caryn Zucker, wife of NBC president Jeff Zucker; Ms. Wintour greeted billionaire David Koch; and Ms. Rogers huddled with anchors Al Roker and Deborah Roberts.

“There’s just something kind of special about this night to begin with, and then you add Michelle Obama on top of that and …” Mr. Roker gushed.

“You’ll really stay awake,” Ms. Roberts said.

“Yeah, normally I look at this as a good shot at napping,” admitted Mr. Roker. “But I’m thinking this is actually something I should probably stay awake for.”

Wearing a formal belted black dress, Ms. Rogers told the Daily Transom that she and Ms. Obama were enjoying the show.

“It is a great night for America, really,” she said. “To see this lovely ballet, to see these children from the Jackie Kennedy Onassis school perform for the first time, it just brings everything full circle and we’re just delighted to be here.”

Alas, there was no sign of the first lady at the glitzy intermission. And as Mr. Roker pointed out, it would be fairly difficult to clink champagne flutes with her anyway.

“There’s this little thing called the Secret Service that I think will keep everyone from flocking to her,” he said.

7:30 p.m. Miss World U.S.A. Lynda Carter will perform: "An Evening with Lynda Carter" in the Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street. Tickets range from $45 to $95.

8 p.m.  Fleetwood Mac performs at Nassau Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike Road, in Uniondale. Tickets are $46, $76 and $146.

9:30 p.m. Author Jonathan Lethem will introduce Jean-Luc Godard's Band of Outsiders (1964) at the Rubin Museum, 150 West 17th Street. Admission is free with a $7 bar minimum.

10 p.m. Yentl Sing-along is hosted by performer Raven Snook in celebration of Purim, featuring Barbara as a cross-dressing yeshiva boy and Mandy Patinkin "back when he was hot." At 92YTribecca, 200 Hudson Street. Admission is $13, price of admission includes one beer. (Directed by Barbra Streisand)

10 p.m. Kanye West's ''Good Music'' label presents artist Kid Cudi's first mixtape release in collaboration with N.Y. streetwear brand 10. The event will feature music by Bobby Trends and free Louis Vuitton sneaker giveaways all night … also "surprise guest you won't want to miss." At Promenade, 215 West 28th Street. Dress code will be strictly enforced, "time to go shop ping."  RSVP before 12 a.m. for free admission.

11 p.m. The Ohio Party (! Where are you from?) kicks off at Matchless. It's a chance "to come together with people from all over the world and with people from Ohio." At 557 Manhattan Avenue at Driggs in Brooklyn. Admssion is Free.

Much of the crowd present was composed of members of the German American Chamber of Commerce. These Germans peered out the windows at the Reuters billboard.

There may be no 'it' bag this year, but some would like you to believe that there is an "it" watch: that watch is the official timepiece of the global jetsetter, the A. Lange & Sohne's Lange 1 Time Zone.

This schmancy watch itself tells time in two cities simultaneously, and can be set for thirty different world cities. Because, you know, it's hard to remember that if it's 8 p.m. in Faisalabad, then it's 5 p.m. in Freiburg.

All thirty of this watch's favorite cities tuned in via live satellite broadcast; that was why the Germans were staring at the Reuters billboard in Times Square. At precisely 2 p.m., the billboard was completely cleared of Verizon ads and filled with the multicast of the Lange 1 Time Zone watch launch. After all, as the broadcasts' spokeswoman at the factory in Saxony, Germany said, "the fascination of mechanical watches has always stirred people throughout the world." Stirred them!

A random assortment of celebrity watch-enthusiasts were on hand to add to the bizarreness of the event, such as Justin Chambers, of Gray's Anatomy, the down-home cutie who said he did nothing this summer but "watch the grass grow." Lynda Carter stopped by looking totally fantastic. (For the record, Wonder Woman was the only person who walked out of there with a free Lange 1 Time Zone; its price tag hovers around $20,000.)

Ms. Carter, who just finished shooting "The Dukes of Hazzard" with Jessica Simpson, reported that Ms. Simpson was "professional and nice." Over a loud yawn, The Transom distinctly heard Ms. Carter say, "You'll never be bored a day in your life if you're curious...in a healthy way."

All eyes were on Ms. Carter and the head watch dealer from Wempe as a live broadcast began. "We have everyone here but the watchmaker!" they announced theatrically.

There was an awkward pause. Where is this watchmaker? A huge door lifted in the corner of the studio, and a black Mercedes Kompressor drove in.

Unfortunately, it was just as the camera cut back to Saxony. Whoops! But no worries. The watchmakers' driver reversed through the crowd, and when the cameras cut back to New York, it pulled right up again.

Ms. Carter, who certainly knows how to pick up a cue, chirped, "That was the coolest entrance I've ever seen!"

The watchmaker, looking inexplicably terrified, crawled out of the back seat. He was wearing a white doctor's coat. Ms. Carter beckoned sexily, "Come over here, Mr. Watchmaker!" He obeyed, wide-eyed and tight-lipped, standing next to Ms. Carter like her lapdog.

Behind him on the Reuters billboard, huge versions of Wonder Woman and the watchmaker loomed over the umbrellas of tourists who hurried past blissfully oblivious, just trying to get out of the pouring rain.
—Raquel Hecker