My understanding is that if a show is doing very well, the first check might well come in within the first 90 days or so, and if things continue to do well, generally monthly. But, if the box office receipts taper off, the return stream will become less frequent.
It's interesting to me why you actually care, given the expectation that if you invest you're likely to lose money and not make money. You know, expect the worst but hope for the best and all that.
Don't forget, so many things factor into recoupment, not the least of which is the show's capitalization, that it's incredibly difficut to provide "generalizations". It's why that in addition to only investing in something that you love (see Michael Bennet's post), you had better spend a long time going over the investment prospectus
CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.