So, I'll admit, I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's *Jesus Christ Superstar.* I've seen it many times, and I've often tried to compare the (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070239/) and (http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-Production-Soundtrack/dp/B00005AREN/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1348448599&sr=8-5&keywords=jesus+christ+superstar+2012) versions. Grant you, the acting is a heck of a lot less corny in the later version, but I'm struck by one major difference between the two. In both versions, the climax of the film is Jesus being crucified. The last words spoken in each are from Jesus, from the cross. But after that, there's a huge difference. In the 1973, let's film it in Israel version, the musical ends by the cast and crew getting in the bus, but all of them intently watching a sunrise. A wordless song is played, but it is fairly easy to interpret this as an artistic decision to simply allow for the fact of the resurrection, but due to its ineffability, leaving the fact without comment. In contrast, the 1999 remake affords no such reflection. The cross is raised up, and the scene directly ends into the title and the credits. While there is music, the ending is very definately at the last breath on the cross. The question I have then is this - is there any record of the theology of the two producers that would validate this hypothesis? Are either Norman Jewison (1973 director), [Gale Edwards](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1103587-jesus_christ_superstar/) (1999 remake director), or Andrew Lloyd Webber himself on record as having discussed the motivation behind this crucial change?

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to watch ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. It wasn't all that great and yes I found it a bit offensive, however it did get me thinking. Why does it seem as if Mary Magdalene was portrayed as a prostitute? She appears to have been a supportive force for Jesus, and not in any sexually immoral way at that. Could it be that during that time period women were seen as less than men, and those who were supportive were seen merely as prostitutes if they were not married? There seem to be several women throughout the Bible that were followers of Christ, and made a difference but were not seen as prostitutes, such as Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2. So why portray Magdalene as such?

I've been re-watching Jesus Christ Superstar recently and a thought sprang into my mind: did the real Jesus ever sing? I mean, are there any records to that effect in the Scriptures or elsewhere, perhaps, in apocryphal texts, Coptic texts, etc.