Although Bent has received mixed reviews, it has attracted packed houses and serious acclaim because of its groundbreaking subject and emotional impact. A typical example of this response to Sherman's masterwork is Walter Kerr's review for the New York Times. Kerr reported that: "the open sound of dismay that washed across the auditorium on the night I saw Bent was one I have never quite heard before—belief, disbelief, shock and half-understanding all mixed together." Kerr added that "dramatic blows do not often strike with this force." Nonetheless, Kerr felt that Sherman was able to carry his "powerful sense of theatre" through only two-thirds of his "bizarre, bloody journey." Kerr admitted, though, that the play ended with a "blistering climax."

A further example of a mixed review is Jack Kroll's piece for Newsweek in which he commented: "It is a jolting, troubling, worrisome play that at...