Musician Janis Ian will be at the Johnson Hall Opera House for a screening of the documentary “Breaking Silence” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24. A Q&A with Ian will follow the screening.

“Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” features Ian, her friends and collaborators, including Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf and Arlo Guthrie.

In the mid-60s, Ian, a teenage singer-songwriter from New Jersey, scored a controversial hit single called “Society’s Child,” about an interracial love relationship. The song launched her illustrious career but also ignited death threats. Ian reemerged in the 1970s with an even bigger hit, “At Seventeen,” ahead of its time in confronting lookism and bullying.

Ian overcame significant obstacles — embezzlement, record industry misogyny, homophobia and heartbreak — to find love and produce an indelible body of searingly honest songs that earned her a devoted following and critical acclaim.

Ian is a 10-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner whose songs and performances have resonated with a diverse group of fans for more than five decades. She is one of just a handful of artists who have received nominations in eight completely different categories. Raised by activist Jewish parents on a New Jersey farm, she currently lives in Florida with her partner and wife of 34 years.

Ian received her first Grammy nomination in 1967 for Best Folk Album. She took home her first Grammy in 1975 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female – “At Seventeen” and her second for Best Spoken Word Album – “Society’s Child: My Autobiography” in 2013. Her 2023 Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, “The Light at the End of the Line,” brought her full circle.

“Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 and 2008, respectively. She received the International Folk Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 and was honored by Ireland’s Tradfest and Ireland’s Minister of Culture in 2024 for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts.

Ian has been mining her treasure trove of music and memorabilia for a massive archival project, the Janis Ian Archives, that will open in October 2024 at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, as well as preparing collections of rare and previously unreleased recordings. The first two releases, “Live at the Calderone Theater 1975” and “Worktapes & Demos Vol. 1,” dropped last fall with more to come. She is also gearing up for the June 2025 broadcast on PBS’ famed “American Masters” of a documentary about her life and work. “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” is helmed by award-winning director/producer Varda Bar-Kar, best known for “Big Voice” (Netflix, PBS) and “Fandango at the Wall” (Max).

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $33. This show will be on the third-floor, Reehl Stage. Johnson Hall Opera House is located at 280 Water St. in Gardiner. This location is handicapped accessible.

Johnson Hall Opera House box office will be open for over-the-phone sales from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Hours subject to change. The box office can be reached at 582-7144 or mike@johnsonhall.org.

Online tickets can be purchased at any time at johnsonhall.org. All over-the-phone or online purchases will receive a digital ticket sent to email.