I never saw Phil Ochs, alas, but there's an excellent biography of him called "There But For Fortune: The Life Of Phil Ochs" by Michael Schumacher, publ. Hyperion, New York (though I don't know if it's still in print). The John B. Train section makes chilling reading.

Jazzy, your son's theatre project sounds fascinating and highly worthwhile. I hope he's able to get some good exposure for it. Does he plan to capture it on film or video? Keep us posted on what happens -